~ubuntu-branches/debian/sid/alpine/sid : revision 18

1

2

Introduction

3

4

Design Goals

5

6

Throughout _Alpine_ development, we have had to strike a balance

7

between the need to include features which advanced users require and

8

the need to keep things simple for beginning users. To strike this

9

balance, we have tried to adhere to these design principles:

10

11

- The model presented to the user has to be simple and clear.

12

Underlying system operation is hidden as much as possible.

13

- It's better to have a few easily understood commands that can

14

be repeated than to have some more sophisticated command that

15

will do the job all at once.

16

- Whenever the user has to select a command, file name, address,

17

etc., the user should be given (or can get) a menu from which to

18

make the selection. Menus need to be complete, small, organized

19

and well thought out.

20

- _Alpine_ must provide immediate feedback for the user with

21

each operation.

22

- _Alpine_ must be very tolerant of user errors. Any time a user

23

is about to perform an irreversible act (send a message, expunge

24

messages from a folder), _Alpine_ should ask for confirmation.

25

- Users should be able to learn by exploration without fear of

26

doing anything wrong. This is an important feature so the user

27

can get started quickly without reading any manuals and so fewer

28

manuals are required.

29

- The core set of _Alpine_ functions should be kept to a minimum

30

so new users don't feel "lost" in seemingly extraneous commands

31

and concepts.

32

33

Just as there were goals relating to the look and feel of _Alpine_,

34

there were equally important goals having to do with _Alpine_'s

35

structure-the things that users never see but still rely on every time

36

they use _Alpine_. While _Alpine_ can be used as a stand-alone mail

37

user agent, one of its strongest assets is its use of the Internet

38

Message Access Protocol (IMAP) for accessing remote email folders. In

39

addition, _Pine_ (the predecessor of _Alpine_) was one of the first

40

programs to support the Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME)

41

specification. With MIME, _Alpine_ users can reliably send any binary

42

file to any other person on the Internet who uses a MIME compliant

43

email program.

44

45

The decision to use IMAP and MIME reflects the importance of

46

interoperability, standardization and robustness in _Alpine_. As you

47

work with _Alpine_ more, you will see other features which reflect the

48

same values. For example, _Alpine_ enforces strict compliance with RFC

49

2822, implements a strong mail folder locking mechanism and verifies a

50

process before overwriting any files (e.g. addressbook, expunging

51

messages).

52

53

Alpine Components

54

55

If you have picked up the _Alpine_ distribution, then you already know

56

that _Alpine_ comes in a few different pieces. They are:

57

58

_Alpine_

59

The main code from which the _Alpine_ program is compiled.

60

_Pico_

61

_Pico_ is the name for the _Alpine_ composer. The _Pico_ code is

62

used in two ways: (1) it is compiled on its own to be a

63

stand-alone editor and, (2) it is compiled as a library for

64

_Alpine_ to support composition of messages within _Alpine_.

65

_Pico_ is _Alpine_'s internal editor invoked when users need to

66

fill in header lines or type the text of an email message.

67

_Imap_

68

An API for IMAP. Includes the C-Client library, which is

69

compiled into _Alpine_, and the IMAP server _IMAPd_. C-Client

70

implements the IMAP protocol and also negotiates all access

71

between _Alpine_ and the mail folders it operates on, even if

72

the folders are local. The C-Client routines are used for email

73

folder parsing and interpreting MIME messages. _IMAPd_ is a

74

separate server that handles IMAP connections from any

75

IMAP-compliant email program. When _Alpine_ accesses a remote

76

mailbox, the _Alpine_ program is the IMAP client and the _IMAPd_

77

program is the IMAP server. Of course, _Alpine_ can use any

78

IMAP-compliant IMAP server, not just _IMAPd_.

79

80

Background Details

81

82

Domain Names

83

84

Domain names are used to uniquely name each host on the Internet. A

85

domain name has a number of parts separated by periods. Each label

86

represents a level in the hierarchy. An example of a name is:

87

88

olive.cac.washington.edu

89

90

In this domain name the top-level label is _edu_, indicating it is at

91

an educational institution, the second-level label is _washington_,

92

indicating the University of Washington. _cac_ is a specific department

93

within the University of Washington, and _olive_ is the host name. The

94

top-level names are assigned by Internet organizations, and other names

95

are assigned at the appropriate level. The Domain Name Service, DNS, is

96

the distributed database used to look up these names.

97

98

_Alpine_ relies on domain names in multiple places. A domain name is

99

embedded into the message-id line generated for each piece of email. A

100

domain name is needed to contact an IMAP server to get access to remote

101

INBOXes and folders. Most importantly, domain names are needed to

102

construct the From: line of your outgoing messages so that people on

103

the Internet will be able to get email back to you.

104

105

On UNIX systems, you can set the domain via the user-domain variable in

106

the _Alpine_ configuration file, or rely on the file /etc/hosts which

107

usually sets the name of the local host. While _Alpine_ can often

108

deliver email without the domain name being properly configured, it is

109

best to have this set correctly. Problems can usually be solved by

110

adjusting the system's entry in the /etc/hosts file. The

111

fully-qualified name should be listed before any abbreviations. For

112

example,

113

114

128.95.112.99 olive.cac.washington.edu olive

115

116

is preferred over

117

118

128.95.112.99 olive olive.cac.washington.edu

119

120

On PCs, the task of configuring the domain name is a bit different.

121

Often times PCs do not have domain names-they have _IP addresses_. IP

122

addresses are the numbers which uniquely identify a computer on the

123

network. The way you configure your IP address depends on the

124

networking software which you use on the PC. You can refer to the

125

documentation which came with your networking software or see the PC

126

specific installation notes for help configuring the IP address with

127

your network software.

128

129

With PCs, it is vital that users set the variable user-domain in the

130

_Alpine_ configuration file (PINERC).

131

132

Details on configuring _Alpine_ with correct domain names can be found

133

in the Domain Settings section of this document.

134

__________________________________________________________________

135

136

RFC 2822 Compliance

137

138

_Alpine_ tries to adhere to RFC 2822 fairly strictly.

139

140

As far as outgoing email is concerned, _Alpine_ fully-qualifies

141

addresses whenever possible. They are even displayed in fully-qualified

142

form on the terminal as the user composes a message. This makes

143

addresses more clear and gives a hint to the user that the network

144

extends beyond the local organization. _Alpine_ implements

145

fully-qualified domain names by tacking on the local domain to all

146

unqualified addresses which a user types in. Any address which does not

147

contain an "@" is considered unqualified.

148

149

The format for addresses allows for spaces and special characters in

150

the full name of an address. For this reason, commas are required to

151

separate addresses. If any special characters as defined in RFC 2822

152

appear in the full name, quotes are required around the address.

153

_Alpine_ will insert the quotes automatically if needed. The common

154

cases where this happens are with periods after initials and

155

parentheses.

156

157

_Alpine_ expects dates to be in the standard RFC 822 format which is

158

something like:

159

[www, ] dd mmm yy hh:mm[:ss] [timezone]

160

161

It will attempt to parse dates that are not in this format. When an

162

unparsable date is encountered it is shown as question marks in the

163

FOLDER INDEX screen.

164

__________________________________________________________________

165

166

SMTP and Sendmail

167

168

_Alpine_ is a _user agent_ not a _message transfer agent_ (MTA). In

169

plain English, that means _Alpine_ does not know how to interact with

170

other computers on the Internet to deliver or receive email. What

171

_Alpine_ does know how to do is help users read, organize and create

172

email. The "dirty work" of delivering and accepting email is handled by

173

other programs.

174

175

All outgoing email is delivered to an SMTP server or to a mail transfer

176

agent. A common mail transfer agent is sendmail. The usual method of

177

delivery used by _Alpine_ is to use either a local or a remote SMTP

178

server.

179

180

The selection of which MTA to use depends on the settings of

181

smtp-server, sendmail-path, and compile-time options. The first MTA

182

specified in the following list is used:

183

1. _sendmail-path_ in /usr/local/lib/pine.conf.fixed

184

2. _smtp-server_ in /usr/local/pine.conf.fixed

185

3. _sendmail-path_ specified on the command line.

186

4. _smtp-server_ specified on the command line.

187

5. _sendmail-path_ in the user's .pinerc file.

188

6. _smtp-server_ in the user's .pinerc file.

189

7. _sendmail-path_ in /usr/local/lib/pine.conf

190

8. _smtp-server_ in /usr/local/pine.conf

191

9. DF_SENDMAIL_PATH defined at compile time.

192

10. SENDMAIL and SENDMAILFLAGS defined at compile time.

193

194

If the _sendmail-path_ form is used, a child process is forked, and the

195

specified command is executed with the message passed on standard

196

input. Standard output is then passed back and displayed for the user.

197

_NOTE: The program MUST read the message to be posted on standard input,

198

AND operate in the style of sendmail's "-t" option. This method is not

199

recommended unless there are special reasons you want to do this._

200

201

If an _smtp-server_ is specified, _Alpine_ operates as an SMTP client.

202

SMTP stands for _Simple Mail Transfer Protocol_; it specifies the rules

203

by which computers on the Internet pass email to one another. In this

204

case, _Alpine_ passes outgoing email messages to a designated SMTP

205

server instead of to a mail transfer program on the local machine. A

206

program on the server then takes care of delivering the message. To

207

make _Alpine_ operate as an SMTP client, the smtp-server variable must

208

be set to the IP address or host name of the SMTP server within your

209

organization. This variable accepts a comma separated list of servers,

210

so you can specify multiple alternate SMTP servers. _PC-Alpine_ only

211

runs as an SMTP client so the _smtp-server_ option is mandatory.

212

213

For UNIX _Alpine_, if neither _smtp-server_ or _sendmail-path_ is set,

214

the default sendmail program is invoked with the "-bs -odb -oem" flags,

215

and the message is sent using the SMTP protocol.

216

__________________________________________________________________

217

218

Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP)

219

220

IMAP is a remote access protocol for message stores. _Alpine_ uses IMAP

221

to get at messages and folders which reside on remote machines. With

222

IMAP, messages are kept on the server. An IMAP client (such as

223

_Alpine_) can request specific messages, headers, message structures,

224

message parts, etc. The client can also issue commands which delete

225

messages from folders on the server. IMAP's closest kin is POP, the

226

Post Office Protocol, which works by transferring an entire mailbox to

227

the client where all the mail is kept. For a comparison of IMAP and

228

POP, see the paper "Comparing Two Approaches to Remote Mailbox Access:

229

IMAP vs. POP" by Terry Gray. A more detailed exploration of message

230

access may be found in the paper " Message Access Paradigms and

231

Protocols."

232

233

IMAP Features:

234

* Allows access to mail folders from more than one client computer.

235

* Works well over low-bandwidth lines because information is sent in

236

small pieces as needed by the user. For example, only header

237

information is sent to build index lists, and if someone sends a

238

large audio file via MIME, you can choose when (or if) you want to

239

get that part of the message.

240

* Email can be delivered and stored on a well-maintained and reliable

241

server which is "always-up".

242

* Folders can be accessed and manipulated from anywhere on the

243

Internet.

244

* Users can get to messages stored in different folders within the

245

same _Alpine_ session.

246

* Allows use of IMAP server for searching and parsing.

247

* The latest revision of IMAP (IMAP4) also provides for disconnected

248

operation, including resynchronization of message state between

249

mail servers and message caches on clients. _Alpine_ does not

250

support this capability, however.

251

252

IMAP4rev1 is described in RFC 3501. Further information about IMAP may

253

be obtained from the University of Washington's IMAP Information

254

Center.

255

256

_Alpine_ is an IMAP4rev1 client.

257

__________________________________________________________________

258

259

Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (MIME)

260

261

MIME is a way of encoding a multipart message structure into a standard

262

Internet email message. The parts may be nested and may be of seven

263

different types: Text, Audio, Image, Video, Message, Application and

264

Multipart (nested). The MIME specification allows email programs such

265

as _Alpine_ to reliably and simply exchange binary data (images,

266

spreadsheets, etc.). MIME includes support for international character

267

sets, tagging each part of a message with the character set it is

268

written in, and providing 7-bit encoding of 8-bit character sets.

269

270

The MIME standard was officially published in June of 1992 as RFC 1341

271

and subsequently revised in RFC 2045 when it became a full Internet

272

Standard. _Pine_ 3.0 was one of the first email programs to Implement

273

MIME. Now, there are dozens of commercial and freely available

274

MIME-capable email programs. In addition, MIME is being added to

275

newsreaders so MIME messages can be posted and read in USENET

276

newsgroups.

277

278

The MIME standard also includes support for non-ASCII text in message

279

headers through the extensions described in RFC 1342 and subsequently

280

revised in RFC 2047.

281

282

An actual MIME message looks something like this:

283

Date: Tue, 12 Mar 1996 15:39:35 -0800 (PST)

284

From: David L Miller <dlm@cac.washington.edu>

285

To: David L Miller <dlm@cac.washington.edu>

286

Subject: =?iso-8859-1?Q?Test_MIME_message_with_RFC-1522_headers_=28=E1?= =?is

287

o-8859-1?Q?=E2=E3=29?=

288

Message-Id: <Pine.ULT.3.92.960312150851.21583I-101000@shiva2.cac.washington.edu>

289

Mime-Version: 1.0

290

Content-Type: MULTIPART/MIXED; BOUNDARY="0-1737669234-826673975=:21583"

291

Content-Id: <Pine.ULT.3.92.960312153928.21583O@shiva2.cac.washington.edu>

292

293

This message is in MIME format. The first part should be readable text,

294

while the remaining parts are likely unreadable without MIME-aware tools.

295

Send mail to mime@docserver.cac.washington.edu for more info.

296

297

--0-1737669234-826673975=:21583

298

Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII

299

Content-ID: <Pine.ULT.3.92.960312153104.21583L@shiva2.cac.washington.edu>

300

301

The text of the message would go here. It is readable if

302

one doesn't mind wading around a little bit of the MIME

303

formatting. After this is a binary file in base 64

304

encoding.

305

306

|\ | |\/| David L. Miller dlm@cac.washington.edu (206) 685-6240

307

|/ |_ | | Software Engineer, Pine Development Team (206) 685-4045 (FAX)

308

University of Washington, Networks & Distributed Computing, JE-20

309

4545 15th Ave NE, Seattle WA 98105, USA

310

311

--0-1737669234-826673975=:21583

312

Content-Type: APPLICATION/ZIP; NAME="test.zip"

313

Content-Transfer-Encoding: BASE64

314

Content-ID: <Pine.ULT.3.92.960312153638.21583N@shiva2.cac.washington.edu>

315

Content-Description: Test Attachment

316

317

UEsDBBQAAAAIAGh8bCBbZKT4ygIAAHgFAAAEAAAAdGVzdIVUX2vbMBB/16c4

318

9rSBNyjsYX1UHSUROLInycv2qNhKI5ZYxlLa5dvvpDRLw6CFgJF09/t3Rxo3

319

WDBDD43rPJjJQpxMbw9m+h3AbyHuLLSDe7JTcPGUbtYm7NzwGP3wBYQnnT8c

320

7NQ5s4djsC8t4QbmYE6wsfjpLTy7uPPHCOPk/ATPk4vRDmS008GF4PzwPich

321

zY3m4LfxOQlPNy4GcEO3P/a2h2j/xGyp9ONpco+7CHf33+4/393ff4XNibzL

322

c1UVfXJXQIdIBRx877b4TYy9C3Fym2NEyzsX/pNDet8dD3aIJiagLbo2wwnG

323

4zT6cK66ZLK1NhH9J4tcZQEy7OxkNyd4nMwQbV9glP7JZb87E3O32fgnm7We

324

XQ8+us4SM47WTCkgMPt9enc2ZAW5c+Pj7o32l0IXXk/r8pSRE3A4jqOfIqqF

325

G+PFlSdRDOaQduXNESTwtDcYfJ8191gWXUjYmOJ43Oxdh11JTzRuSPcY37+B

326

vNqmf0O5RB1G27mt64rLCp4X8pW1L6BvxunCeYHNk3F7s9lb+GAwyvAhOyNE

327

Lxm0gv9gUnH9C+o5rKlacrHQtYAZV2VF+UoBrSp8kJIKzZkqgP1sJFMKagl8

328

1VSczQqy5noJki2onIGuQS+5AlXPNfaxArgoq3aGwJDq6lZDxVdcU82RKMG/

329

4JArTVKzYrJc4pE+8CoJpGIGc65FIp8jO4WGSs3LtqISmlY2tUKyVMUFETWw

330

H0xoUMvE8KbXB4aC6EPFzrDiF6iGlZxWBeFixiUrdXJb1kKx7y2C4hPM6Iou

331

WI4hdVyO6yXVqkZqiXmottLJ9lzWK1LVKttqk8oZ1TS1NrJGS5jqeslQI0aK

332

ieCvzNlgNZJqiccCc5WafLxmKdii4gsmSvYpISkteamzkRwXJiG5SoUpcERK

333

8xIE8QQ7o+eh5WAUy1qYRP8rioip/maI+OfyF1BLAQIUAxQAAAAIAGh8bCBb

334

ZKT4ygIAAHgFAAAEAAAAAAAAAAEAAACkgQAAAAB0ZXN0UEsFBgAAAAABAAEA

335

MgAAAOwCAAAAAA==

336

--0-1737669234-826673975=:21583--

337

338

339

For details about _Alpine_'s implementation of MIME, see the two MIME

340

sections "MIME: Reading a Message" and "MIME: Sending a Message" later

341

in this document.

342

__________________________________________________________________

343

344

Folder Collections

345

346

Folder Collections are _Alpine_'s way of dealing with more than a

347

single group of folders.

348

349

For a more complete description of Folder Collections, see the section

350

on "Syntax for Collections."

351

352

The _Alpine_ distribution is designed to require as little

353

configuration and effort at compile time as possible. Still, there are

354

some _Alpine_ behaviors which are set at the time you compile _Alpine_.

355

For each of these, there is a reasonable (our opinion) default built

356

into the code, so most systems administrators will have no need for

357

these steps.

358

359

Building and Installation

360

361

Compile-time Options

362

363

_Alpine_'s UNIX build environment is based on Autotools (the GNU Build

364

System). Once you've unpacked the source distribution find the file

365

configure in the top-level directory. You may look at the many options

366

available by typing

367

368

./configure --help

369

370

or you could just try building with the command

371

372

./configure

373

374

followed by

375

376

make

377

378

Note, while the UW IMAP Toolkit (whose c-client library _Alpine_ uses

379

for mailbox access) build is not based on Autotools, _Alpine_'s

380

configure script should set an appropriate make target and compilation

381

options for most systems.

382

383

Some of the following can only be set when you build. Others, however,

384

can be overridden by command-line flags to _Alpine_ or settings in

385

_Alpine_'s user or system configuration files. Some of the options which

386

can be set when building:

387

388

Including LDAP Functionality

389

390

By default, the configure script will attempt to find the LDAP library

391

support for you. If you are having trouble with LDAP take a look at the

392

configure options

393

--with-ldap-dir=DIR

394

Specify the root of the LDAP lib/include path.

395

--with-ldap-include-dir=DIR

396

Specify the LDAP include path.

397

--with-ldap-lib-dir=DIR

398

Specify the LDAP library path.

399

--without-ldap

400

Disable LDAP support.

401

402

_Alpine_ uses LDAPv3 protocol. When using the LDAPv3 protocol, the

403

results are assumed to be in the UTF-8 character set, which _Alpine_

404

handles well. If the LDAP server returns non-ascii data which is not

405

encoded as UTF-8 you will probably run into problems.

406

407

Including Kerberos 5 Functionality

408

409

This works analogously to the LDAP build. By default, the configure

410

script will attempt to find the Kerberos library support for you. If

411

you are having trouble with Kerberos take a look at the configure

412

options

413

--with-krb5-dir=DIR

414

Specify the root of the Kerberos lib/include path.

415

--with-krb5-include-dir=DIR

416

Specify the Kerberos include path.

417

--with-krb5-lib-dir=DIR

418

Specify the Kerberos library path.

419

--without-krb5

420

Disable Kerberos support.

421

422

Other Alpine Compile-time Options

423

424

--disable-nls

425

Do not use Native Language Support. NLS refers to the use of GNU

426

gettext utilities to localize a program, in the sense that

427

English is translated to some other language. At the time this

428

was written the low-level support for NSL is included in _Alpine_

429

but no translations have been done. If there is no translation

430

available, that means that disabling NLS will make no

431

difference. If you have trouble building which is due to gettext

432

or libintl you could try this option, or one of the following.

433

--with-libintl-prefix[=DIR]

434

--without-libintl-prefix

435

--with-ssl-dir=DIR

436

Specify the root of the SSL lib/include path (OpenSSL).

437

--with-ssl-include-dir=DIR

438

Specify the SSL include path.

439

--with-ssl-lib-dir=DIR

440

Specify the SSL library path.

441

--with-ssl-certs-dir=DIR

442

Specify the path to the SSL certificates directory.

443

--without-ssl

444

Disable SSL support.

445

--without-pthread

446

Do not test for nor build with POSIX thread support, which is

447

used only for the Busy-Cue in the status line at this time.

448

--without-smime

449

Disable S/MIME support.

450

--disable-debug

451

Never create debug files.

452

--with-smtp-msa=PATH

453

Local Mail Submission Agent (sendmail, by default).

454

--with-smtp-msa-flags=FLAGS

455

MSA flags for SMTP on stdin/stdout (-bs -odb -oem).

456

457

There are many more options which you can see using the

458

459

./configure --help

460

461

command.

462

463

IMAPd Compile-time Options

464

465

There are no options or settings required for the version of _IMAPd_

466

distributed with _Alpine_. If you need to be doing more complex

467

modifications to IMAP, then you should pick up the IMAP development

468

package and work with that code. The developer's version of IMAP is

469

available for anonymous ftp from ftp.cac.washington.edu in the

470

directory mail. The file is called imap.tar.Z. Unless it has changed

471

since _Alpine_ was released, the directory imap in the _Alpine_

472

distribution is the IMAP development package.

473

474

The c-client library has not been converted to use the GNU Build

475

System's autotools. The _Alpine_ configure script will try to correctly

476

guess the arguments needed for the c-client make command and will build

477

the library, but if you need to change anything you should take a look

478

at imap/docs/BUILD for more detailed instructions.

479

__________________________________________________________________

480

481

Building the Alpine Programs

482

483

You may have already compiled _Alpine_ and tried it out. If so, great!

484

If not, you should be able to do it without too much trouble by

485

following these step-by-step instructions:

486

487

1. Make sure you're in the root of the _Alpine_ source. When you type

488

ls you should see the following files and directories (or something

489

close to it):

490

aclocal.m4 config.sub imap Makefile.am packages web

491

alpine configure include Makefile.in pico

492

build.bat configure.ac install-sh mapi pith

493

build.cmd contrib LICENSE missing po

494

config.guess depcomp ltmain.sh mkinstalldirs README

495

config.rpath doc m4 NOTICE VERSION

496

497

2. Give the command ./configure Configure should grind away for a few

498

minutes.

499

3. When configure is complete, give the command make. If make stops

500

and asks

501

502

Do you want to build with IPv6 anyway? Type y or n please:

503

you should answer with a 'y'. The compiler should grind away for a

504

few minutes. The _Alpine_ binary will end up in .../alpine/alpine

505

and the Pico and Pilot binaries in .../pico/pico and

506

.../pico/pilot. Other binaries you may be interested in are

507

.../alpine/rpdump and .../alpine/rpload and c-client binaries in

508

the directories .../imap/imapd, .../imap/ipopd, .../imap/mailutil,

509

and so on.

510

4. If you need to try again, make sure you're getting a clean start by

511

giving the command make clean.

512

__________________________________________________________________

513

514

Installing Alpine and Pico on UNIX Platforms

515

516

Installing _Alpine_ and _Pico_ is simple. You take the program files

517

which you have just transferred or built and you move them to the

518

correct directory on your system. Most often the binaries go in

519

/usr/local/bin though sometimes they are placed in /usr/bin. All the

520

help text is compiled into _Alpine_ so there are no _required_

521

auxiliary files. Instead of copying the binaries manually, you may use

522

make install to install them.

523

524

There are three optional auxiliary files: /usr/local/lib/pine.info,

525

/usr/local/lib/pine.conf, and /usr/local/lib/pine.conf.fixed. The file

526

pine.info contains text on how to get further help on the local system.

527

It is part of the help text for the main menu and should probably refer

528

to the local help desk or the system administrator. If this file

529

doesn't exist a generic version which suggests ``talking to the

530

computer support staff at your site'' is shown. The file pine.conf is

531

used to set system-wide default configurations for _Alpine_. The file

532

pine.conf.fixed is also used to set system-wide default configurations

533

for _Alpine_. The difference between these two files is that

534

configuration variables set in the pine.conf.fixed file may not

535

normally be over-ridden by a user. See the section on Alpine

536

Configuration later in this document for details about the pine.conf

537

and pine.conf.fixed files.

538

__________________________________________________________________

539

540

Installing PC-Alpine

541

542

The PC-Alpine distribution comes as a .zip file. To install, unzip the

543

files to a directory where you would like the program to reside. Modern

544

Windows versions come with the capability of unzipping .zip files.

545

Failing that, you can use one of the many .zip file extractors out

546

there. Following current Windows conventions, a common directory into

547

which the files could be extracted would be C:\Program

548

Files\PC-Alpine\.

549

550

Having extracted PC-Alpine's .zip file to the directory of choice, you

551

can now run that directory's alpine.exe, which is the actual PC-Alpine

552

program. For convenience, you could place shortcuts to it on the task

553

bar, start menu, etc.

554

555

Upon first running PC-Alpine, you may be asked where you would like to

556

access your Configuration file (called the _pinerc_). This is useful in

557

accessing already existing configuration files, and it does not matter

558

where this file gets created. If you are connecting to an IMAP server

559

to access your email, it is also possible to store this Configuration

560

data on that server, which facilitates accessing the same configuration

561

from multiple machines (in fact, your configuration may have already

562

been set up this way for use with other _Alpine_ programs).

563

564

After having established the location of the configuration file, it may

565

be necessary to specify a few configuration settings before reading or

566

sending mail. You may be prompted for the following (which may also be

567

edited from the (S)etup (C)onfig screen from the Main Menu):

568

569

Folder to open as inbox (or _inbox-path_) - This can be an inbox

570

residing on an IMAP or POP3 server, or one residing locally. An example

571

of an INBOX for an IMAP server is: {server.example.com}INBOX.

572

573

User-id, Personal name, and host/domain, which are to be used as your

574

email address.

575

576

SMTP server to forward message - You must enter your SMTP server

577

before you can send any messages.

578

579

At this point, you will be able to read and send email messages. There

580

are, however, many more preferences that you can set in the

581

Configuration screen.

582

__________________________________________________________________

583

584

Installing IMAPd

585

586

When the _Alpine_ distribution is built on a UNIX system, the IMAP

587

server binary, imapd, is compiled. Installing imapd requires placing

588

the binary in the appropriate directory, usually /usr/etc, and adding

589

entries to /etc/services and /etc/inetd.conf or their counterparts.

590

591

Instead of including installation instructions here we'll just include

592

a pointer to detailed instructions in the c-client distribution. Please

593

take a look at the file imap/docs/BUILD in the source tree.

594

__________________________________________________________________

595

596

Support Files and Environment Variables: UNIX Alpine

597

598

This section lists the various files which _Alpine_ uses which are not

599

email folders. All of these are the default names of files, they may

600

vary based on _Alpine_'s configuration.

601

/usr/local/lib/pine.conf

602

Pine's global configuration file.

603

/usr/local/lib/pine.conf.fixed

604

Non-overridable global configuration file.

605

/usr/local/lib/pine.info

606

Local pointer to system administrator.

607

~/.pinerc

608

Personal configuration file for each user.

609

~/.pinercex

610

Personal exceptions configuration file for each user.

611

~/.addressbook

612

Personal addressbook

613

~/.newsrc

614

Personal USENET subscription list. This is shared with other

615

newsreading programs.

616

~/.pine-debugX

617

The files created for debugging _Alpine_ problems. By default,

618

there are 4 .pine-debug files kept at any time.

619

~/.signature

620

A signature file which will be included in all outgoing email

621

messages.

622

~/.pine-interrupted-mail

623

The text of a message which was interrupted by some unexpected

624

error which _Alpine_ detected.

625

~/mail/postponed-msgs

626

A folder of messages which the user chose to postpone.

627

/etc/mailcap

628

System-wide mail capabilities file. Only used if $MAILCAPS not

629

set.

630

~/.mailcap

631

Personal mail capabilities file. Combines with system-wide

632

mailcap. Only used if $MAILCAPS not set.

633

634

The location of the following support files may be controlled by

635

variables in the personal or global _Alpine_ configuration file:

636

signature, addressbook and its index file, postponed messages, and

637

newsrc.

638

639

Unix _Alpine_ uses the following environment variables:

640

TERM

641

Tells _Alpine_ what kind of terminal is being used.

642

DISPLAY

643

Determines if _Alpine_ will try to display IMAGE attachments.

644

TMPDIR, TMP, or TEMP

645

Specifies location of temporary storage area, first one set wins

646

SHELL

647

If not set, default is /bin/sh

648

MAILCAPS

649

A semicolon delimited list of path names to mailcap files.

650

__________________________________________________________________

651

652

Support Files, Environment Variables, and Registry Settings: PC-Alpine

653

654

This section lists the various files which _PC-Alpine_ uses which are

655

not normal mail folders. All of these are the default names of files,

656

they may vary based on _Alpine_'s configuration.

657

658

$PINERC or <PineRC registry value> or $HOME\PINE\PINERC or <PINE.EXE

659

dir>\PINERC

660

Path to (required) personal configuration file.

661

$PINERCEX or $HOME\PINE\PINERCEX or <PINE.EXE dir>\PINERCEX

662

Path to personal exceptions configuration file.

663

$PINECONF

664

Path of optional global configuration file.

665

<PINERC directory>\ADDRBOOK

666

Personal addressbook

667

<PINERC directory>\PINEDEBG.TXT

668

Location of _Alpine_ debug file.

669

<PINERC directory>\MAILCAP and/or <PINE.EXE dir>\MAILCAP

670

These paths are only used if $MAILCAPS not set.

671

$HOME\NEWSRC or <PINERC directory>\NEWSRC

672

Personal USENET subscription list. This may be shared with other

673

newsreading programs.

674

$HOME\MAIL\INTRUPTD

675

The text of a message which was interrupted by some unexpected

676

error which _Alpine_ detected.

677

$HOME\MAIL\POSTPOND

678

A folder of messages which the user chose to postpone.

679

680

Registry Values:

681

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\University of Washington\Alpine\1.0

682

_Pinedir_: The directory that contains the _Alpine_ executable.

683

_PineEXE_: The name of the _Alpine_ executable (most commonly

684

"alpine.exe").

685

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\University of Washington\Alpine\1.0

686

_PineRC_: The path that points to the default pinerc to use.

687

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Clients\Mail\Alpine

688

_DLLPath_: The path that points to _Alpine_'s pmapi32.dll.

689

HKLM\Software\Clients\Mail\Alpine\shell\open\command

690

_(Default)_: When set as the default mailer, this is the command

691

that is run by external programs.

692

HKLM\Software\Clients\Mail\Alpine\Protocols\Mailto\DefaultIcon

693

_(Default)_: This points to the icon to display in relation to

694

_Alpine_'s mailto URL rendering.

695

HKLM\Software\Clients\Mail\Alpine\Protocols\Mailto\shell\open\command

696

_(Default)_: This value is the command that gets run by external

697

programs when a mailto URL is run with _PC-Alpine_ set as the

698

default mailer.

699

HKLM\Software\Clients\News\Alpine\shell\open\command

700

_(Default)_: When set as the default newsreader, this is the

701

command that is run by external programs.

702

HKLM\Software\Clients\News\Alpine\Protocols\news\DefaultIcon

703

_(Default)_: This points to the icon to display in relation to

704

_Alpine_'s news URL rendering.

705

HKLM\Software\Clients\News\Alpine\Protocols\news\shell\open\command

706

_(Default)_: This value is the command that gets run by external

707

programs when a news URL is run with _Alpine_ set as the default

708

newsreader.

709

HKLM\Software\Clients\News\Alpine\Protocols\nntp\DefaultIcon

710

_(Default)_: This points to the icon to display in relation to

711

_Alpine_'s nntp URL rendering.

712

HKLM\Software\Clients\News\Alpine\Protocols\nntp\shell\open\command

713

_(Default)_: This value is the command that gets run by external

714

programs when a nntp URL is run with _Alpine_ set as the default

715

newsreader.

716

717

_Alpine_'s personal configuration file may be in the same directory as

718

the executable, or if that is inconvenient because the executable is on

719

a shared or read-only drive, then it can be in a file named by the

720

$PINERC environment variable, or in $HOME\ALPINE\PINERC, where if not

721

set, $HOME defaults to the root of the current working drive.

722

723

Most of the other support files key off of the location of the PINERC

724

file. However, in the case of the NEWSRC file, the path $HOME\NEWSRC is

725

checked first. Also, the postponed messages and interrupted message

726

folders are placed in the default folder collection, normally in the

727

directory $HOME\MAIL.

728

729

The location of the following support files may be controlled by

730

variables in the personal or global _Alpine_ configuration file:

731

signature, addressbook (and its index file), postponed messages, and

732

newsrc.

733

734

_PC-Alpine_ uses the following environment variables:

735

PINERC

736

Overrides default path to pinerc file.

737

PINERCEX

738

Overrides default path to personal exceptions configuration

739

file.

740

PINECONF

741

Optional path to global _Alpine_ config file.

742

HOME

743

If not set, _Alpine_ uses the root of the current drive, e.g. C:

744

TMPDIR, TMP, or TEMP

745

Specifies location of temporary storage area, first one set wins

746

COMSPEC

747

Specifies shell for external commands.

748

MAILCAPS

749

A semicolon delimited list of path names to mailcap files.

750

751

Command Line Arguments

752

753

Alpine

754

755

_Alpine_ and _PC-Alpine_ can accept quite a few command-line arguments.

756

Many of these arguments overlap with variables in the _Alpine_

757

configuration file. If there is a difference, then a flag set in the

758

command line takes precedence. Both _Alpine_ and _PC-Alpine_ expect

759

command line arguments (other than addresses) to be preceded by the "-"

760

(dash) as normally used by UNIX programs.

761

762

_[addresses]_

763

Send-to: If you give _Alpine_ an argument or arguments which do

764

not begin with a dash, _Alpine_ treats them as email addresses.

765

_Alpine_ will startup in the composer with a message started to

766

the addresses specified. Once the message is sent, the _Alpine_

767

session closes. Standard input redirection is allowed. Separate

768

multiple addresses with a space between them. Addresses are

769

placed in the "To" field only.

770

< _file_

771

_Alpine_ will startup in the composer with _file_ read into the

772

body of the message. Once the message is sent, the _Alpine_

773

session closes.

774

-attach _file_

775

Go directly into composer with given file attached.

776

-attachlist _file-list_

777

Go directly into composer with given files attached. This must

778

be the last option on the command line.

779

-attach_and_delete _file_

780

Go directly into composer with given file attached, delete when

781

finished.

782

-aux _local_directory_

783

_PC-Alpine_ only. This tells _PC-Alpine_ the local directory to

784

use for storing auxiliary files, like debug files, address

785

books, and signature files. The pinerc may be local or remote.

786

-nosplash

787

_PC-Alpine_ only. This tells _PC-Alpine_ to not display the

788

splash screen upon startup. This may be helpful for certain

789

troubleshooting or terminal server scenarios.

790

-bail

791

If the personal configuration file doesn't already exist, exit.

792

This might be useful if the configuration file is accessed using

793

some remote filesystem protocol. If the remote mount is missing

794

this will cause _Alpine_ to quit instead of creating a new

795

pinerc.

796

-c _n_

797

When used with the -f option, apply the _n_th context. This is

798

used when there are multiple folder collections (contexts) and

799

you want to open a folder not in the primary collection.

800

-conf

801

Configuration: Prints a sample system configuration file to the

802

screen or standard output. To generate an initial system

803

configuration file, execute

804

alpine -conf > /usr/local/lib/pine.conf

805

806

To generate a system configuration file using settings from an

807

old system configuration file, execute

808

alpine -P old-pine.conf -conf > /usr/local/lib/pine.conf

809

810

A system configuration file is not required.

811

-convert_sigs _-p pinerc_

812

Convert signatures contained in signature files into literal

813

signatures.

814

-copy_abook _<local_abook_file> <remote_abook_folder>_

815

Copy an address book file to a remote address book folder. If

816

the remote folder doesn't exist, it will be created. If it

817

exists but the first message in the folder isn't a remote

818

address book header message, the copy will be aborted. This flag

819

will not usually be used by a user. Instead, the user will

820

create a remote address book from within _Alpine_ and copy

821

entries from the local address book by using aggregate Save in

822

the address book screen.

823

-copy_pinerc _<local_pinerc_file> <remote_pinerc_folder>_

824

Copy a pinerc configuration file to a remote pinerc folder. If

825

the remote folder doesn't exist, it will be created. If it

826

exists but the first message in the folder isn't a remote pinerc

827

header message, the copy will be aborted. This flag may be

828

useful to users who already have a local pinerc file and would

829

like to convert it to a remote pinerc folder and use that

830

instead. This gives a way to bootstrap that conversion without

831

having to manually reset all of the variables in the remote

832

pinerc folder.

833

-d _debug-level_

834

Debug Level: Sets the level of debugging information written by

835

_Alpine_. _Debug-level_ can be set to any integer 0-9. A debug

836

level of 0 turns off debugging for the session. (Actually there

837

are some levels higher than 9, but you probably don't want to

838

see them. Sensitive authentication information is hidden at

839

levels less than 10.)

840

-d _keywords_

841

You may use a more detailed version of the debugging flag to set

842

the debug level in separate parts of _Alpine_. The possibilities

843

are flush, timestamp, imap=0..4, tcp, numfiles=0..31, and

844

verbose=0..9. _Flush_ causes debugging information to be flushed

845

immediately to the debug file as it is written. _Verbose_ is the

846

general debugging verbosity level. _Timestamp_ causes timestamps

847

to be added to the debug file, which is useful when you are

848

trying to figure out what is responsible for delays. _Numfiles_

849

sets the number of debug files saved. _Imap_ sets the debug

850

level for the debugging statements related to the conversation

851

with the IMAP server, and more generally, for the debugging

852

related to _Alpine_'s interaction with the C-Client library. If

853

_imap_ is set higher than 4, sensitive authentication information

854

will be included in the debug file. _Tcp_ adds more TCP/IP

855

debugging information.

856

-f _folder_

857

Startup folder: _Alpine_ will open this folder in place of the

858

standard INBOX.

859

-F _file_

860

Open named text file for viewing and forwarding.

861

-h

862

Help: Prints the list of available command-line arguments to the

863

screen.

864

-i

865

_Alpine_ will start up in the FOLDER INDEX screen instead of the

866

MAIN MENU.

867

Configuration equivalent: _initial-keystroke-list=i_.

868

-I _a,b,c,..._

869

Initial Keystrokes: _Alpine_ will execute this comma-separated

870

sequence of commands upon startup. This allows users to get

871

_Alpine_ to start in any of its menus/screens. You cannot include

872

any input to the composer in the initial keystrokes. The key

873

<Return> is represented by a ``CR'' in the keystroke list; the

874

spacebar is designated by the letters ``SPACE''. Control keys

875

are two character sequences beginning with ``^'', such as

876

``^I''. A tab character is ``TAB''. Function keys are ``F1'' -

877

``F12'' and the arrow keys are ``UP'', ``DOWN'', ``LEFT'', and

878

``RIGHT''. A restriction is that you can't mix function keys and

879

character keys in this list even though you can, in some cases,

880

mix them when running _Alpine_. A user can always use only

881

_character_ keys in the startup list even if he or she is using

882

_function_ keys normally, or vice versa. If an element in this

883

list is a string of characters surrounded by double quotes (")

884

then it will be expanded into the individual characters in the

885

string, excluding the double quotes.

886

Configuration equivalent: _initial-keystroke-list_

887

-install

888

For _PC-Alpine_ only, this option prompts for some basic setup

889

information, then exits.

890

-k

891

Function-Key Mode: When invoked in this way, _Alpine_ expects

892

the input of commands to be function-keys. Otherwise, commands

893

are linked to the regular character keys.

894

Configuration equivalent: _use-function-keys_ included in

895

_feature-list_.

896

-n _n_

897

Message-Number: When specified, _Alpine_ starts up in the FOLDER

898

INDEX screen with the current message being the specified

899

message number.

900

-nowrite_password_cache

901

This tells _Alpine_ to use the local password cache if there is

902

one, but to never offer writing new passwords to the cache.

903

-o _folder_

904

Opens the INBOX (or a folder specified via the -f argument)

905

ReadOnly.

906

-p _pinerc_

907

Uses the named file as the personal configuration file instead

908

of _~/.pinerc_ or the default PINERC search sequence _PC-Alpine_

909

uses. Pinerc may be either a local file or a remote

910

configuration folder.

911

-P _pinerc_

912

Uses the named file as the system wide configuration file

913

instead of _/usr/local/lib/pine.conf_ on UNIX, or nothing on

914

_PC-Alpine_. Pinerc may be either a local file or a remote

915

configuration folder.

916

-passfile _passfile_

917

This tells _Alpine_ what file should be used as the password

918

file. This should be a fully-qualified filename.

919

-pinerc _file_

920

Output fresh pinerc configuration to _file_, preserving the

921

settings of variables that the user has made. Use _file_ set to

922

``-'' to make output go to standard out.

923

-r

924

Restricted Mode: For UNIX _Alpine_ only. _Alpine_ in restricted

925

mode can only send email to itself. Save and export are limited.

926

-registry _cmd_

927

For _PC-Alpine_ only, this option affects the values of

928

_Alpine_'s registry entries. Possible values for _cmd_ are set,

929

noset, clear, clearsilent, and dump. _Set_ will always reset

930

_Alpine_'s registry entries according to its current settings.

931

_NoSet_ will never set any values in the registry, but it will

932

still use the values already set in the registry. _Clear_ will

933

clear the registry values. _Clearsilent_ will silently clear the

934

registry values. _Dump_ will display the values of current

935

registry settings. Note that the dump command is currently

936

disabled. Without the -registry option, _PC-Alpine_ will write

937

values into the registry only if there currently aren't any

938

values set.

939

-sort _key_

940

Sort-Key: Specifies the order messages will be displayed in for

941

the FOLDER INDEX screen. _Key_ can have the following values:

942

arrival, date, subject, orderedsubj, thread, from, size, score,

943

to, cc, arrival/reverse, date/reverse, subject/reverse,

944

orderedsubj/reverse, thread/reverse, from/reverse, size/reverse,

945

score/reverse, to/reverse, and cc/reverse. The default value is

946

"arrival". The _key_ value reverse is equivalent to

947

arrival/reverse.

948

Configuration equivalent: _sort-key_.

949

-supported

950

Some options may or may not be supported depending on how

951

_Alpine_ was compiled. This is a way to determine which options

952

are supported in the particular copy of _Alpine_ you are using.

953

-install

954

For _PC-Alpine_ only, this option removes references to Alpine

955

in Windows settings. The registry settings are removed and the

956

password cache is cleared.

957

-url _url_

958

Open the given URL.

959

-v

960

Version: Print version information to the screen.

961

-version

962

Version: Print version information to the screen.

963

-x _exceptions_config_

964

Configuration settings in the exceptions config override your

965

normal default settings. _Exceptions_config_ may be either a

966

local file or a remote pinerc folder.

967

-z

968

Enable Suspend: When run with this flag, the key sequence ctrl-z

969

will suspend the _Alpine_ session.

970

Configuration equivalent: _enable-suspend_ included in

971

_feature-list_.

972

-_option_=_value_

973

Assign _value_ to the config option _option_. For example,

974

_-signature-file=sig1_ or _-feature-list=signature-at-bottom_.

975

(Note: feature-list values are additive and features may be

976

preceded with no- to turn them off).

977

978

Pico

979

980

The following command line options are supported in _Pico_:

981

982

+_n_

983

Causes _Pico_ to be started with the cursor located _n_ lines

984

into the file. (Note: no space between "+" sign and number)

985

986

-a

987

Display all files and directories, including those beginning

988

with a period (.).

989

990

-b

991

Enable the option to Replace text matches found using the "Where

992

is" command. This now does nothing. Instead, the option is

993

always turned on (as if the -b flag had been specified).

994

995

-d

996

Rebind the "delete" key so the character the cursor is on is

997

rubbed out rather than the character to its left.

998

999

-e

1000

Enable file name completion.

1001

1002

-f

1003

Use function keys for commands. _This option supported only in

1004

conjunction with UW Enhanced NCSA telnet._

1005

1006

-g

1007

Enable "Show Cursor" mode in file browser. Cause cursor to be

1008

positioned before the current selection rather than placed at

1009

the lower left of the display.

1010

1011

-k

1012

Causes "Cut Text" command to remove characters from the cursor

1013

position to the end of the line rather than remove the entire

1014

line.

1015

1016

-m

1017

Enable mouse functionality. This only works when _Pico_ is run

1018

from within an X Window System "xterm" window.

1019

1020

-n_n_

1021

The -n_n_ option enables new mail notification. The _n_ argument

1022

is optional, and specifies how often, in seconds, your mailbox

1023

is checked for new mail. For example, -n60 causes _Pico_ to

1024

check for new mail once every minute. The default interval is

1025

180 seconds, while the minimum allowed is 30. (Note: no space

1026

between "n" and the number)

1027

1028

-o _dir_

1029

Sets operating directory. Only files within this directory are

1030

accessible. Likewise, the file browser is limited to the

1031

specified directory subtree.

1032

1033

-p

1034

Preserve the "start" and "stop" characters, typically Ctrl-Q and

1035

Ctrl-S, which are sometimes used in communications paths to

1036

control data flow between devices that operate at different

1037

speeds.

1038

1039

-q

1040

TermdefWins. Termcap or terminfo escape sequences are used in

1041

preference to default escape sequences.

1042

1043

-Q _quotestr_

1044

Set the quote string. Especially useful when composing email,

1045

setting this allows the quote string to be checked for when

1046

Justifying paragraphs. A common quote string is "> ".

1047

1048

-r_n_

1049

Sets column used to limit the "Justify" command's right margin.

1050

1051

-t

1052

Enable "tool" mode. Intended for when _Pico_ is used as the

1053

editor within other tools (e.g., Elm, Pnews). _Pico_ will not

1054

prompt for save on exit, and will not rename the buffer during

1055

the "Write Out" command.

1056

1057

-v

1058

View the file only, disallowing any editing.

1059

1060

-version

1061

Print version information.

1062

1063

-w

1064

Disable word wrap (thus allow editing of long lines).

1065

1066

_Note: Pico will break any lines over 255 characters when

1067

reading a file, regardless of word wrapping._

1068

1069

-x

1070

Disable keymenu at the bottom of the screen.

1071

1072

-z

1073

Enable ^Z suspension of _Pico_.

1074

1075

Pilot

1076

1077

The following command line options are supported in _Pilot_:

1078

1079

-a

1080

Display all files including those beginning with a period (.).

1081

1082

-f

1083

Use function keys for commands. _This option supported only in

1084

conjunction with UW Enhanced NCSA telnet._

1085

1086

-g

1087

Enable "Show Cursor" mode. Cause cursor to be positioned before

1088

the current selection rather than placed at the lower left of

1089

the display.

1090

1091

-m

1092

Enable mouse functionality. This only works when _Pilot_ is run

1093

from within an X Window System "xterm" window.

1094

1095

-n_n_

1096

The -n_n_ option enables new mail notification. The _n_ argument

1097

is optional, and specifies how often, in seconds, your mailbox

1098

is checked for new mail. For example, -n60 causes _Pilot_ to

1099

check for new mail once every minute. The default interval is

1100

180 seconds, while the minimum allowed is 30. (Note: no space

1101

between "n" and the number)

1102

1103

-o _dir_

1104

Sets operating directory. Only files within the specified

1105

directory are accessible and browsing is limited to the

1106

specified directory subtree.

1107

1108

-v

1109

Enable single vertical column display.

1110

1111

-x

1112

Disable keymenu at the bottom of the screen.

1113

1114

-z

1115

Enable ^Z suspension of _Pilot_.

1116

1117

Configuration and Preferences

1118

1119

Alpine Configuration

1120

1121

There is very little in _Alpine_ which _requires_ compile-time

1122

configuration. In most cases, the compiled-in preferences will suit

1123

users and administrators just fine. When running _Alpine_ on a UNIX

1124

system, the default built-in configuration can be changed by setting

1125

variables in the system configuration files, /usr/local/lib/pine.conf

1126

or /usr/local/lib/pine.conf.fixed. (Actually, these files can be

1127

changed using the configure arguments --with-system-pinerc=VALUE or

1128

--with-system-fixed-pinerc=VALUE.) The location of the pine.conf file

1129

can be changed with the -P command line argument. Both _Alpine_ and

1130

_PC-Alpine_ also use personal (user-based) configuration files. On UNIX

1131

machines, the personal configuration file is the file ~/.pinerc. For

1132

_PC-Alpine_ systems, the personal configuration file is in $PINERC or

1133

<PineRC registry value> or ${HOME}\ALPINE\PINERC or <ALPINE.EXE

1134

dir>\PINERC. Or the personal configuration file can be specified with

1135

the -p command line argument.

1136

1137

All of these configuration files, other than the fixed system config

1138

pine.conf.fixed on UNIX systems, may optionally be remote configuration

1139

files instead of local files. This is discussed further in the

1140

following section and in Remote Configuration.

1141

1142

After the personal configuration, _Alpine_ may optionally use a

1143

personal exceptions configuration file which is specified with the

1144

command line option "-x exceptions_config". "Exceptions_config" may

1145

also be either a local file or a remote configuration folder. For Unix

1146

_Alpine_, if you don't have a "-x" command line option, _Alpine_ will

1147

look for the file ".pinercex" in the same local directory that the

1148

regular config file is located in. If the regular config file is remote

1149

then Unix _Alpine_ looks in the home directory for ".pinercex".

1150

1151

For _PC-Alpine_, if you don't have a "-x" command line option,

1152

_PC-Alpine_ will use the value of the environment variable $PINERCEX. If

1153

that is not set, _PC-Alpine_ will look for the local file "PINERCEX" in

1154

the same local directory that the regular config file is located in. If

1155

the regular config file is remote then _PC-Alpine_ looks in the local

1156

directory specfied by the "-aux local_directory" command line argument,

1157

or the directory ${HOME}\ALPINE, or in <ALPINE.EXE directory>.

1158

1159

The syntax of a non-list configuration variable is this:

1160

1161

1162

1163

If the value is absent then the variable is unset. To set a variable to

1164

the empty value two double quotes (""). This is equivalent to an absent

1165

value except that it overrides any system-wide default value that may

1166

be set. Quotes may be used around any value. All values are strings and

1167

end at the end of the line or the closing quote. Leading and trailing

1168

space is ignored unless it is included in the quotes. There is one

1169

variable, _use-only-domain-name_, for which the only appropriate values

1170

are _yes_ and _no_. That's because it is a variable from the early days

1171

of _Alpine_ before features existed.

1172

1173

There is also a second type of variable, lists. A list is a

1174

comma-separated list of values. The syntax for a list is:

1175

1176

<variable> = <value> [, <value> , ... ]

1177

1178

A list can be continued on subsequent lines by beginning the line with

1179

white-space. Both the per-user and global configuration files may

1180

contain comments which are lines beginning with a #.

1181

1182

For UNIX _Alpine_, there are five ways in which each variable can be

1183

set. In decreasing order of precedence they are:

1184

1. the system-wide _fixed_ configuration file

1185

2. a command line argument

1186

3. the personal exceptions file

1187

4. the personal configuration file

1188

5. the system-wide configuration file.

1189

1190

If the variable is not set in any of those places, there is a default

1191

setting in the source code.

1192

1193

So, system-wide fixed settings always take precedence over command line

1194

flags, which take precedence over per-user exception settings, which

1195

take precedence over per-user settings, which take precedence over

1196

system-wide configuration settings. _PC-Alpine_ has the same list,

1197

except that it does not use a system-wide _fixed_ configuration file.

1198

This can be modified slightly by using inheritance, which is covered

1199

below.

1200

1201

You may get a sample/fresh copy of the system configuration file by

1202

running _alpine -conf_. The result will be printed on the standard

1203

output with very short comments describing each variable. (The online

1204

help in the Setup screens provides much longer comments.) If you need

1205

to fix some of the configuration variables, you would use the same

1206

template for the fixed configuration file as for the regular

1207

system-wide configuration file. (If it isn't clear, the purpose of the

1208

fixed configuration file is to allow system administrators to restrict

1209

the configurability of _Alpine_. It is by no means a bullet-proof

1210

method.) _Alpine_ will automatically create the personal configuration

1211

file the first time it is run, so there is no need to generate a

1212

sample. _Alpine_ reads and writes the personal configuration file

1213

occasionally during normal operation. Users will not normally look at

1214

their personal configuration file, but will use the Setup screens from

1215

within _Alpine_ to set the values in this file. If a user does add

1216

additional comments to the personal configuration file they will be

1217

retained.

1218

1219

References to environment variables may be included in the _Alpine_

1220

configuration files. The format is $variable or ${variable}. The

1221

character ~ will be expanded to the $HOME environment variable. For a

1222

more complete explanation of how environment variables work, see the

1223

section Using Environment Variables.

1224

1225

When environment variables are used for _Alpine_ settings which take

1226

lists, you must have an environment variable set for each member of the

1227

list. That is, _Alpine_ won't properly recognize an environment

1228

variable which is set equal to a comma-delimited list. It is OK to

1229

reference unset environment variables in the _Alpine_ configuration

1230

file, which will expand to nothing.

1231

1232

Remote and Local Configuration

1233

1234

There are two types of storage for configuration information. _Local_

1235

configuration files are used by default. These are just regular files

1236

on the UNIX system or on the PC. _Remote_ configuration folders are

1237

stored on an IMAP server. The advantage of using a remote configuration

1238

is that the same information may be accessed from multiple platforms.

1239

For example, if you use one computer at work and another at home, the

1240

same configuration could be used from both places. A configuration

1241

change from one place would be seen in both places. Technical

1242

information about remote configuration is in Remote Configuration.

1243

1244

Generic and Exceptional Configuration

1245

1246

If you use _Alpine_ from more than one platform it may be convenient to

1247

split your configuration information into two pieces, a generic piece

1248

and exceptions which apply to a particular platform. For example,

1249

suppose you use _Alpine_ from home and from work. Most of your

1250

configuration settings are probably the same in both locations, so

1251

those settings belong in the generic settings configuration. However,

1252

you may use a different SMTP server and INBOX from home than you do

1253

from work. The "smtp-server" and "inbox-path" variables could be part

1254

of your exceptional configuration so that they could be different in

1255

the two places.

1256

1257

You can use the command line option "-x config" to split your

1258

configuration into generic and exceptional pieces. Config may be either

1259

local or remote.

1260

1261

For most people, splitting the configuration information into two

1262

pieces is only going to be useful if the generic information is

1263

accessed remotely. If you already have a local pinerc file with

1264

settings you like you may find that the command Setup/RemoteConfigSetup

1265

will be useful in helping you convert to a remote configuration. The

1266

command line flag copy_pinerc may also be useful.

1267

1268

Configuration Inheritance

1269

1270

Configuration inheritance is a power user feature. It is confusing and

1271

not completely supported by the configuration user interface.

1272

1273

For configuration variables which are lists, like "smtp-server" or

1274

"incoming-folders", the inheritance mechanism makes it possible to

1275

_combine_ the values of options from different configuration locations

1276

instead of _replacing_ the value. Configuration Inheritance has more

1277

information about how inheritance is used.

1278

__________________________________________________________________

1279

1280

General Configuration Variables

1281

1282

The following is a list of all _Alpine_ configuration variables, in

1283

alphabetical order. Note that not all variables apply to all versions

1284

of _Alpine_ and that some variables are only applicable in a system

1285

configuration file and some are only applicable in a personal

1286

configuration file. These are configuration _variables_. Configuration

1287

Features are in a separate section.

1288

1289

_addrbook-sort-rule_

1290

This variable sets up the default address book sorting.

1291

Currently, _Alpine_ will accept the values _dont-sort_,

1292

_fullname-with-lists-last_, _fullname_,

1293

_nickname-with-lists-last_, and _nickname_. The default is to sort

1294

by fullname with lists last. If you use an address book from

1295

more than one computer and those computers sort the address book

1296

differently then the sort order will be the order where the last

1297

change to the address book was made. There are two reasons the

1298

sorting might be different on different systems. First, the

1299

addrbook-sort-rule may be set differently in the two places.

1300

Second, the collation rules on the two computers may be

1301

different. For example, one system might ignore special

1302

characters while the other doesn't or one may sort upper and

1303

lower case letters together while the other doesn't. In any

1304

case, the order you see is the order on the system where the

1305

last change was made, for example by an address book edit or a

1306

Take Address command.

1307

This option is displayed as "Addressbook Sort Rule".

1308

_address-book_

1309

A list of personal address books. Each entry in the list is an

1310

optional nickname followed by a pathname or file name relative

1311

to the home directory. The nickname is separated from the rest

1312

of the line with whitespace. Instead of a local pathname or file

1313

name, a remote folder name can be given. This causes the address

1314

book to be a Remote address book. Remote folder syntax is

1315

discussed in Syntax for Remote Folders. This list of address

1316

books will be combined with the global-address-book list to

1317

arrive at the complete set of address books.

1318

_addressbook-formats_

1319

This option specifies the format that address books are

1320

displayed in. By default, address books are displayed with the

1321

nicknames in the first column, the fullnames in the second

1322

column, and addresses in the third column. The system figures

1323

out reasonable defaults for the widths of the columns. An

1324

address book may be given a different format by listing special

1325

tokens in the order you want them to display. The possible

1326

tokens are NICKNAME, FULLNAME, ADDRESS, FCC, and COMMENT. More

1327

details are included in the online help for this variable.

1328

_alt-addresses_

1329

This option provides a place for you to list alternate email

1330

addresses you may have. Each address in the list should be the

1331

actual email address part of an address, without the full name

1332

field or the angle brackets. For example:

1333

1334

user@example.com

1335

The matching is case-insensitive, so this would match any of

1336

User@example.com, user@Example.Com, or USER@EXAMPLE.COM as well.

1337

If set, the option affects the behavior of the Reply command and

1338

the "+" symbol in the MESSAGE INDEX, which denotes that a

1339

message has been addressed specifically to you.

1340

In the default INDEX display the personal name (or email

1341

address) of the person listed in the message's "From:" header

1342

field is usually displayed except when that address is yours or

1343

one of your alternate addresses. In that case you will usually

1344

see the name of the first person specified in the message's

1345

"To:" header field with the prefix "To: " prepended.

1346

With respect to Reply, the reply-to-all option will exclude

1347

addresses listed here.

1348

The feature copy-to-address-to-from-if-it-is-us is somewhat

1349

related to this option.

1350

In addition to a list of actual addresses, you may use regular

1351

expressions (as used with egrep with the ignore case flag) to

1352

describe the addresses you want to match. _Alpine_ will somewhat

1353

arbitrarily interpret your entry as a regular expression if it

1354

contains any of the characters *, |, +, ?, {, [, ^, $, or \.

1355

Otherwise, it will be treated literally. The feature

1356

disable-regular-expression-matching-for-alternate-addresses may

1357

be used to turn off regular expression processing regardless of

1358

whether or not special characters appear in the entry.

1359

A description of how regular expressions work is beyond the

1360

scope of this help text, but some examples follow.

1361

The entry

1362

1363

.*@example.com

1364

in the alt-addresses list would mean that any address with a

1365

domain name of example.com (such as fred@example.com or

1366

wilma@example.com) will be considered one of your alternate

1367

addresses. Strictly speaking, the dot in example.com ought to be

1368

escaped with a backslash, as in example\.com, and a dollar sign

1369

anchor ought to come at the end of the expression to prevent a

1370

match of example.com.org. Complicating things further, the

1371

dollar sign is special in the _Alpine_ configuration (it

1372

signifies environment variable expansion) so the dollar sign

1373

should be doubled or backslash escaped for _Alpine_'s sake.

1374

Quotes around the whole expression will not escape the dollar

1375

sign successfully. So this example should look like

1376

1377

.*@example\.com$$

1378

The entry

1379

1380

^fred[0-9]*@example.com$$

1381

would match fred3@example.com or fred17@example.com as well as

1382

fred@example.com.

1383

You could match all addresses that look like

1384

fred+stuff@example.com for any value of stuff with the entry

1385

1386

^fred\+.*@example.com$$

1387

Notice that you have to escape the plus sign with a backslash

1388

because plus is a special character in regular expressions. If

1389

you wanted to match plain fred as well as fred+stuff the

1390

expression

1391

1392

^fred(()|\+.*)@example.com$$

1393

would do it, but it would be easier to just add fred@example.com

1394

as a separate entry.

1395

One more example, a match of all first-level subdomains, is

1396

given by

1397

1398

^fred@[[:alnum:]_-]*\.example\.com$$

1399

Because the regular expression matching is based on an old

1400

library (hs_regex) the regular expressions might not work

1401

exactly as you expect, but they should be close.

1402

This option is displayed as "Alternate Addresses".

1403

_bugs-additional-data_

1404

System-wide configuration files only. Program/Script used by

1405

_Report Bug_ command. Output from the program/script is captured

1406

and attached to the bug report.

1407

_bugs-fullname_, _bugs-address_, _local-fullname_, _local-address_,

1408

_suggest-fullname_, and _suggest-address_

1409

System-wide configuration files only. These are used by the bug

1410

report commands which can be accessed from some of the Help

1411

screens.

1412

_busy-cue-rate_

1413

When _Alpine_ is delayed for some reason it usually shows that

1414

something is happening with a small animated display in the

1415

status message line near the bottom of the screen. This option

1416

sets how frequently the characters (for example, a spinning bar)

1417

in the active status message lines are updated. At most, it can

1418

be set to be udpated 20 times per second.

1419

Setting this value to zero will prevent display of the

1420

animations altogether.

1421

The option busy-cue-spinner-only can be used to remove the

1422

randomness from this animated display.

1423

_character-set_

1424

This is now obsolete, replaced by three separate variables:

1425

_display-character-set_, _keyboard-character-set_, and

1426

_posting-character-set_. See the section on International

1427

Character Sets for more details.

1428

_color-style_

1429

UNIX _Alpine_ only (color is automatically on with _PC-Alpine_).

1430

If the terminal or terminal emulator you are using is capable of

1431

displaying colors, this variable controls whether or not color

1432

will be used in _Alpine_. If you turn color on and things are

1433

set up correctly, you should see color appear on the screen

1434

immmediately. Modern terminal emulators are usually capable of

1435

displaying colors.

1436

This variable may be set to any of the following values:

1437

1438

no-color

1439

Don't use color.

1440

1441

use-termdef

1442

In order to decide if your terminal is capable of color,

1443

_Alpine_ looks in the terminal capabilities database,

1444

TERMINFO or TERMCAP, depending on how _Alpine_ was

1445

compiled. This is a good option to choose if you switch

1446

between a color and a non-color terminal with the same

1447

_Alpine_ configuration. _Alpine_ will know to use color on

1448

the color terminal because it is described in the termcap

1449

entry, and _Alpine_ will know to use black and white on

1450

the non-color terminal. Color Details has more information

1451

about configuring a termcap entry for color. This is

1452

usually something a system administrator does.

1453

1454

force-ansi-8color

1455

Because setting up a termcap entry is confusing and

1456

because the terminal capabilities database is often not

1457

correctly configured for color, this choice and the next

1458

may be easier for you to use. If your terminal emulator

1459

responds to ANSI color escape sequences, which many do,

1460

this option will cause _Alpine_ to believe your terminal

1461

will respond to the escape sequences which produce eight

1462

different foreground and background colors. The escape

1463

sequences used to set the foreground colors are

1464

1465

ESC [ 3 <color_number> m

1466

1467

where the color_number is an ASCII digit between 0 and 7.

1468

The numbers 0 through 7 should correspond to the colors

1469

black, red, green, yellow, blue, magenta, cyan, and white.

1470

Some terminal emulators use a pre-ANSI scheme which swaps

1471

the colors blue and red and the colors yellow and cyan.

1472

This will cause the default colors to be different, but

1473

other than that things should work fine. There is also a

1474

9th color available, the last one shown, which is the

1475

default color from the terminal emulator. When used as a

1476

background color some people refer to this color as

1477

"transparent", which is why the letters "TRAN" are shown

1478

in the color swatch of the SETUP COLOR screen. The

1479

foreground transparent color is shown as the color of the

1480

"TRAN" text. (The transparent color will not work

1481

correctly in a PC-Alpine configuration.) The escape

1482

sequences used to set the background colors are the same

1483

as for the foreground colors except a "4" replaces the

1484

"3".

1485

1486

Note: With the Tera Term terminal emulator this setting

1487

works well. You should also have the Tera Term "Full

1488

color" option turned OFF. You may find the "Full color"

1489

option in Tera Term's "Setup" menu, in the "Window"

1490

submenu.

1491

1492

force-ansi-16color

1493

Many terminal emulators know about the same eight colors

1494

above plus eight more. This option attempts to use all 16

1495

colors. The same escape sequences as for the eight-color

1496

terminal are used for the first eight colors. The escape

1497

sequences used to set foreground colors 8-15 are the same

1498

as for 0-7 except the "3" is replaced with a "9". The

1499

background color sequences for colors 8-15 are the same as

1500

for 0-7 except the "4" is replaced with "10". You can tell

1501

if the 16 colors are working by turning on this option and

1502

then going into one of the color configuration screens,

1503

for example, the configuration screen for Normal Color. If

1504

you see 16 different colors to select from (plus a 17th

1505

for the transparent color), it's working.

1506

1507

force-xterm-256color

1508

Some versions of xterm (and some other terminal emulators)

1509

have support for 256 colors. The escape sequences used to

1510

set the foreground colors are

1511

1512

ESC [ 38 ; 5 ; <color_number> m

1513

1514

where the color_number is an ASCII digit between 0 and

1515

255. Background colors are the same with the 38 replaced

1516

with a 48. The numbers 0 through 15 are probably similar

1517

to the 16 color version above, then comes a 6x6x6 color

1518

cube, followed by 24 colors of gray. The terminal default

1519

(transparent) color is the 257th color at the bottom. Some

1520

terminal emulators will misinterpret these escape

1521

sequences causing the terminal to blink or overstrike

1522

characters or to do something else undesirable.

1523

1524

The PuTTY terminal emulator has an option called "Allow

1525

terminal to use xterm 256-colour mode" which allows PuTTY

1526

to work well with this 256-color setting.

1527

1528

There are two other possible color values which may be useful in

1529

some situations. In the color configuration screens there will

1530

sometimes be a color which has the label "NORM" inside its color

1531

swatch. If this is selected the corresponding foreground or

1532

background Normal Color will be used. Another similar color is

1533

the one that has the label "NONE" inside its color swatch. The

1534

meaning of this setting is that no color changing will be done.

1535

This NONE color is only useful in contexts where _Alpine_ is

1536

already coloring the text some color other than the Normal

1537

Color. For example, if the Reverse Color is set then the current

1538

line in the MESSAGE INDEX will be colored. If one of the index

1539

symbols (for example, the Index-to-me Symbol) has the NONE color

1540

as its background then the symbol's foreground color will be

1541

used to draw the actual text but the background color will be

1542

the same as whatever the background color already was. The color

1543

values which end up in the configuration file for these special

1544

values are the 11-character words "norm-padded", "none-padded",

1545

and "transparent".

1546

The normal default is "no-color".

1547

Once you've turned on color you may set the colors of many

1548

objects on the screen individually. The Color Configuration

1549

section has more information, or you may just try it by running

1550

the "Setup" command and typing "K" for Kolor to enter the color

1551

configuration screen (Kolor instead of Color because C means

1552

Config). Most categories of color which _Alpine_ supports are

1553

configurable there. Index line color is configured separately.

1554

_composer-word-separators_

1555

This option affects how a "word" is defined in the composer. The

1556

definition of a word is used when using the Forward Word and

1557

Backward Word commands in the composer, as well as when using

1558

the spell checker. Whitespace is always considered a word

1559

separator. Punctuation (like question marks, periods, commas,

1560

and so on) is always a word separator if it comes at the end of

1561

a word. By default, a punctuation character which is in the

1562

middle of a word does not break up that word as long as the

1563

character before and the character after it are both

1564

alphanumeric. If you add a character to this option it will be

1565

considered a word separator even when it occurs in the middle of

1566

an alphanumeric word. For example, if you want to skip through

1567

each part of an address instead of skipping the whole address at

1568

once you might want to include"@" and "." in this list. If you

1569

want the word-skipper to stop on each part of a UNIX filename

1570

you could add "/" to the list. The equal sign and dash are other

1571

possibilities you might find helpful.

1572

_composer-wrap-column_

1573

This option specifies an aspect of _Alpine_'s Composer. This

1574

gives the maximum width that auto-wrapped lines will have. It's

1575

also the maximum width of lines justified using the ^J Justify

1576

command. The normal default is _74_. The largest allowed setting

1577

is normally _80_ in order to prevent very long lines from being

1578

sent in outgoing mail. When the mail is actually sent, trailing

1579

spaces will be stripped off of each line.

1580

_current-indexline-style_

1581

current-indexline-style.

1582

_customized-hdrs_

1583

You may add your own custom headers to outgoing messages. Each

1584

header you specify here must include the header tag (Reply-To:,

1585

Approved:, etc.) and may optionally include a value for that

1586

header. If you want to see these custom headers each time you

1587

compose a message, you must add them to your

1588

default-composer-hdrs list, otherwise they become part of the

1589

rich header set which you only see when you press the rich

1590

header command. (If you are looking for a way to change which

1591

headers are _displayed_ when you view a message, take a look at

1592

the viewer-hdrs option instead.) Here's an example which shows

1593

how you might set your From address

1594

1595

From: Full Name <user@example.com>

1596

and another showing how you might set a Reply-To address

1597

1598

Reply-To: user@example.com

1599

You may also set non-standard header values here. For example,

1600

you could add

1601

1602

Organization: My Organization Name

1603

or even

1604

1605

X-Favorite-Colors: Purple and Gold

1606

If you include a value after the colon then that header will be

1607

included in your outgoing messages unless you delete it before

1608

sending. If a header in the Customized-Headers list has only a

1609

tag but no value, then it will not be included in outgoing

1610

messages unless you edit a value in manually. For example, if

1611

1612

Reply-To:

1613

is in the list, then the Reply-To header will be available for

1614

editing but won't be included unless a value is added while in

1615

the composer.

1616

It's actually a little more complicated than that. The values of

1617

headers that you set with the Customized-Headers option are

1618

defaults. If the message you are about to compose already has a

1619

value for a header, that value is used instead of a value from

1620

your Customized-Headers. For example, if you are Replying to a

1621

message the Subject field will already be filled in. In that

1622

case, if the Customized-Headers list contains a Subject line,

1623

the custom subject will _NOT_ be used. The subject derived from

1624

the subject of the message you are Replying to will be used

1625

instead.

1626

It is also possible to make header setting even more complicated

1627

and more automatic by using Roles, but if all you want to do is

1628

set a default value for a header, you don't need to think about

1629

Roles.

1630

If you change your From address you may also find it useful to

1631

add the changed From address to the alt-addresses configuration

1632

option.

1633

Limitation: Because commas are used to separate the list of

1634

Customized-Headers, it is not possible to have the value of a

1635

header contain a comma. Nor is there currently an "escape"

1636

mechanism provided to make this work.

1637

This option is displayed as "Customized Headers".

1638

_dead-letter-files_

1639

This option affects _Alpine_'s behavior when you cancel a

1640

message being composed. _Alpine_'s usual behavior is to write

1641

the canceled message to a file named "dead.letter" in your home

1642

directory, or "DEADLETR" when using _PC-Alpine_, overwriting any

1643

previous message.

1644

If you set this option to a value higher than one, then that

1645

many copies of dead letter files will be saved. For example, if

1646

you set this option to "3" then you may have files named

1647

"DEADLETR", "DEADLETR2", and "DEADLETR3"; or "dead.letter",

1648

"dead.letter2", and "dead.letter3". In this example, the most

1649

recently cancelled message will be in "dead.letter", and the

1650

third most recently cancelled message will be in "dead.letter3".

1651

The fourth most recently cancelled message will no longer be

1652

saved.

1653

If you set this option to zero, then NO record of canceled

1654

messages is maintained.

1655

If the feature Quell-Dead-Letter-On-Cancel is set, that

1656

overrides whatever you set for this option. If this option had

1657

existed at the time, then the Quell feature would not have been

1658

added, but it is still there for backwards compatibility. So, in

1659

order for this option to have the desired effect, make sure the

1660

Quell feature is turned off.

1661

_default-composer-hdrs_

1662

You can control which headers you want visible when composing

1663

outgoing email using this option. You can specify any of the

1664

regular set, any Rich Header, or any Customized-Hdrs which you

1665

have already defined. If you use this setting at all, you must

1666

specify all the headers you want to see, you can't just add to

1667

the regular header set. The default set is To:, Cc:, Attchmnt:,

1668

and Subject:.

1669

Note that the "Newsgroups:" header will be abbreviated in the

1670

Composer display, but should be spelled out in full here.

1671

This option is displayed as "Default Composer Headers".

1672

_default-fcc_

1673

The name of the folder to which all outgoing mail goes is set

1674

here. The compiled-in default is _sent-mail_ (UNIX) or _sentmail_

1675

(PC). It can be set to "" (two double quotes with nothing

1676

between them) to turn off saving copies of outgoing mail. If

1677

_default-fcc_ is a relative file name, then it is relative to

1678

your default collection for saves (see folder-collections).

1679

This option is displayed as "Default Fcc (File carbon copy)".

1680

_default-saved-msg-folder_

1681

This option determines the default folder name for _Saves_... If

1682

this is not a path name, it will be in the default collection

1683

for saves. Any valid folder specification, local or IMAP, is

1684

allowed. This default folder only applies when the

1685

saved-msg-name-rule doesn't override it. Unix _Alpine_ default

1686

is normally _saved-messages_ in the default folder collection.

1687

_PC-Alpine_ default is _SAVEMAIL_ (normally stored as

1688

_SAVEMAIL.MTX_).

1689

This option is displayed as "Default Saved Message Folder".

1690

_disable-these-authenticators_

1691

This variable is a list of SASL (Simple Authentication and

1692

Security Layer) authenticators which will be disabled. SASL is a

1693

mechanism for authenticating to IMAP, POP3, SMTP, and other

1694

network servers.

1695

_Alpine_ matches its list of supported authenticators with the

1696

server to determine the most secure authenticator that is

1697

supported by both. If no matching authenticators are found,

1698

_Alpine_ will revert to plaintext login (or, in the case of SMTP,

1699

will be unable to authenticate at all).

1700

The candidates for disabling are listed below. There may be more

1701

if you compile _Alpine_ with additional authenticators and/or a

1702

newer version of the c-client library.

1703

+ GSSAPI

1704

+ CRAM-MD5

1705

+ PLAIN

1706

+ LOGIN

1707

Normally, you will not disable any authenticators. There are two

1708

exceptions:

1709

1. You use a broken server that advertises an authenticator, but

1710

does not actually implement it.

1711

2. You have a Kerberos-capable version of _Alpine_ and the server

1712

is also Kerberos-capable, but you can not obtain Kerberos

1713

credentials on the server machine, thus you desire to disable

1714

GSSAPI (which in turn disables _Alpine_'s Kerberos support).

1715

It is never necessary to disable authenticators, since _Alpine_

1716

will try other authenticators before giving up. However,

1717

disabling the relevant authenticator avoids annoying error

1718

messages.

1719

_disable-these-drivers_

1720

This variable is a list of mail drivers which will be disabled.

1721

The candidates for disabling are listed below. There may be more

1722

in the future if you compile _Alpine_ with a newer version of

1723

the c-client library.

1724

+ mbox

1725

+ mbx

1726

+ mh

1727

+ mix

1728

+ mmdf

1729

+ mtx

1730

+ mx

1731

+ news

1732

+ phile

1733

+ tenex

1734

+ unix

1735

The _mbox_ driver enables the following behavior: if there is a

1736

file called mbox in your home directory, and if that file is

1737

either empty or in Unix mailbox format, then every time you open

1738

_INBOX_ the _mbox_ driver will automatically transfer mail from

1739

the system mail spool directory into the mbox file and delete it

1740

from the spool directory. If you disable the _mbox_ driver, this

1741

will not happen.

1742

It is not recommended to disable the driver which supports the

1743

system default mailbox format. On most non-SCO systems, that

1744

driver is the _unix_ driver. On most SCO systems, it is the

1745

_mmdf_ driver. The system default driver may be configured to

1746

something else on your system; check with your system manager

1747

for additional information.

1748

It is most likely not very useful for you to disable any of the

1749

drivers other than possibly _mbox_. You could disable some of

1750

the others if you know for certain that you don't need them but

1751

the performance gain in doing so is very modest.

1752

_display-character-set_

1753

See the discussion in International Character Sets for details.

1754

_display-filters_

1755

This option defines a list of text-filtering commands (programs

1756

or scripts) that may be used to filter text portions of received

1757

messages prior to their use (e.g., presentation in the "Message

1758

Text" display screen). For security reasons, the full path name

1759

of the filter command must be specified.

1760

Display filters do not work with _PC-Alpine_.

1761

The command is executed and the message is piped into its

1762

standard input. The standard output of the command is read back

1763

by _Alpine_. The __TMPFILE__ token (see below) overrides this

1764

default behavior.

1765

The filter's use is based on the configured _trigger_ string.

1766

The format of a filter definition is:

1767

1768

1769

You can specify as many filters as you wish, separating them

1770

with a comma. Each filter can have only one trigger and command.

1771

Thus, two trigger strings which invoke the same command require

1772

separate filter specifications.

1773

The _trigger_ is simply text that, if found in the message, will

1774

invoke the associated command. If the trigger contains any space

1775

characters, it must be placed within quotes. Likewise, should

1776

you wish a filter to be invoked unconditionally, define the

1777

trigger as the null string, "" (two consecutive double-quote

1778

characters). If the trigger string is found anywhere in the text

1779

of the message the filter is invoked. Placing the trigger text

1780

within the tokens defined below changes where within the text

1781

the trigger must be before considering it a match.

1782

Trigger Modifying Tokens:

1783

1784

__CHARSET(string)__

1785

This token tells _Alpine_ to invoke the supplied command

1786

if the text is in a character set matching string (e.g.,

1787

ISO-8859-2 or ISO-2022-JP).

1788

1789

__LEADING(string)__

1790

This token tells _Alpine_ to invoke the supplied command

1791

if the enclosed string is found to be the first

1792

non-whitespace text.

1793

NOTE: Quotes are necessary if string contains the space

1794

character.

1795

1796

__BEGINNING(string)__

1797

This token tells _Alpine_ to invoke the supplied command

1798

if the enclosed string is found at the beginning of any

1799

line in the text.

1800

NOTE: Quotes are necessary if string contains the space

1801

character.

1802

1803

The "command" and "arguments" portion is simply the command line

1804

to be invoked if the trigger string is found. Below are tokens

1805

that _Alpine_ will recognize and replace with special values

1806

when the command is actually invoked.

1807

Command Modifying Tokens:

1808

1809

__TMPFILE__

1810

When the command is executed, this token is replaced with

1811

the path and name of the temporary file containing the

1812

text to be filtered. _Alpine_ expects the filter to

1813

replace this data with the filter's result. NOTE: Use of

1814

this token implies that the text to be filtered is not

1815

piped into standard input of the executed command and its

1816

standard output is ignored. _Alpine_ restores the tty

1817

modes before invoking the filter in case the filter

1818

interacts with the user via its own standard input and

1819

output.

1820

1821

__RESULTFILE__

1822

When the command is executed, this token is replaced with

1823

the path and name of a temporary file intended to contain

1824

a status message from the filter. _Alpine_ displays this

1825

in the message status field.

1826

1827

__DATAFILE__

1828

When the command is executed, this token is replaced with

1829

the path and name of a temporary file that _Alpine_

1830

creates once per session and deletes upon exit. The file

1831

is intended to be used by the filter to store state

1832

information between instances of the filter.

1833

1834

__PREPENDKEY__

1835

When the command is executed, this token indicates that a

1836

random number will be passed down the input stream before

1837

the message text. This number could be used as a session

1838

key. It does not appear as a command-line argument. It is

1839

sent in this way to improve security. The number is unique

1840

to the current _Alpine_ session and is only generated once

1841

per session.

1842

1843

The feature disable-terminal-reset-for-display-filters is

1844

related.

1845

Performance caveat/considerations:

1846

Testing for the trigger and invoking the filter doesn't come for

1847

free. There is overhead associated with searching for the

1848

trigger string, testing for the filter's existence and actually

1849

piping the text through the filter. The impact can be reduced if

1850

the Trigger Modifying Tokens above are employed.

1851

Limitation:

1852

If Header Colors are being used, the sequences of bytes which

1853

indicate color changes will be contained in the text which is

1854

passed to the display-filter. If this causes problems you'll

1855

need to turn off Header Colors. The thirteen bytes which

1856

indicate a color change are the character \377 followed by \010

1857

for a foreground color or \011 for a background color. Then

1858

comes eleven characters of RGB data which looks something like

1859

255, 0,255, depending on the particular color, of course.

1860

_download-command_

1861

This option affects the behavior of the _Export_ command. It

1862

specifies a Unix program name, and any necessary command line

1863

arguments, that _Alpine_ can use to transfer the exported

1864

message to your personal computer's disk.

1865

_download-command-prefix_

1866

This option is used in conjunction with the _download-command_

1867

option. It defines text to be written to the terminal emulator

1868

(via standard output) immediately prior to starting the download

1869

command. This is useful for integrated serial line file transfer

1870

agents that permit command passing (e.g., Kermit's APC method).

1871

_editor_

1872

UNIX _Alpine_ only. Sets the name of the alternate editor for

1873

composing mail (message text only, not headers). It will be

1874

invoked with the "^_" command or it will be invoked

1875

automatically if the enable-alternate-editor-implicitly feature

1876

is set.

1877

_empty-header-message_

1878

When sending, if both the To and Cc fields are empty and you are

1879

sending the message to a Bcc, _Alpine_ will put a special

1880

address in the To line. The default value is

1881

"undisclosed-recipients: ;". The reason for this is to avoid

1882

embarrassment caused by some Internet mail transfer software

1883

that interprets a "missing" To: header as an error and replaces

1884

it with an Apparently-to: header that may contain the addresses

1885

you entered on the Bcc: line, defeating the purpose of the Bcc.

1886

You may change the part of this message that comes before the ":

1887

;" by setting the _empty-header-message_ variable to something

1888

else.

1889

_fcc-name-rule_

1890

Determines default folder name for fcc when composing.

1891

Currently, _Alpine_ will accept the values _default-fcc_,

1892

_by-recipient_, or _last-fcc-used_. If set to _default-fcc_, then

1893

_Alpine_ will use the value defined in the default-fcc variable

1894

(which itself has a default) for the Fcc header field. If set to

1895

_by-recipient_, then _Alpine_ will use the name of the recipient

1896

as a folder name for the fcc. The relevant recipient is the

1897

first address in the To field. If set to "last-fcc-used", then

1898

_Alpine_ will offer to Fcc to whatever folder you used

1899

previously. In all cases, the field can still be edited after it

1900

is initially assigned. If the fcc field in the address book is

1901

set for the first To address, that value over-rides any value

1902

derived from this rule.

1903

_feature-list_

1904

This is a list of the many features (options) which may be

1905

turned on or off. There is a separate section titled

1906

Configuration Features which explains each of the features.

1907

There is some additional explanation about the _feature-list_

1908

variable itself in Feature List Variable.

1909

_file-directory_

1910

_PC-Alpine_ only. This value affects the Composer's "^J Attach"

1911

command, the Attachment Index Screen's "S Save" command, and the

1912

Message Index's "E Export" command.

1913

Normally, when a filename is supplied that lacks a leading

1914

"path" component, _Alpine_ assumes the file exists in the user's

1915

home directory. Under Windows operating systems, this definition

1916

isn't always clear. This feature allows you to explictly set

1917

where _Alpine_ should look for files without a leading path.

1918

NOTE: this feature's value is ignored if either use-current-dir

1919

feature is set or the PINERC has a value for the operating-dir

1920

variable.

1921

_folder-collections_

1922

This is a list of one or more collections where saved mail is

1923

stored. See the sections describing folder collections and

1924

collection syntax for more information. The first collection in

1925

this list is the default collection for _Save_s, including

1926

default-fcc's.

1927

_folder-extension_

1928

_PC-Alpine_ only. File extension used for local folder names.

1929

This is .MTX by default.

1930

_folder-reopen-rule_

1931

_Alpine_ normally checks for new mail in the currently open

1932

folder and in the INBOX every few minutes.

1933

There are some situations where automatic new-mail checking does

1934

not work. For example, if a mail folder is opened using the POP

1935

protocol or a newsgroup is being read using the NNTP protocol,

1936

then new-mail checking is disabled.

1937

It may be possible to check for new mail in these cases by

1938

reopening the folder. _Alpine_ does not do this for you

1939

automatically, but you may do the commands manually to cause

1940

this to happen. You reopen by going back to the folder list

1941

screen from the message index screen with the "<" command, and

1942

then going back into the message index screen with the ">"

1943

command. (Actually, any method you would normally use to open a

1944

folder will work the same as the "<" followed by ">" method. For

1945

example, the GoTo Folder command will work, or you may use L to

1946

go to the Folder List screen and Carriage Return to reopen the

1947

folder.)

1948

There are some cases where _Alpine_ knows that reopening the

1949

folder should be useful as a way to discover new mail. At the

1950

time of this writing, connections made using the POP protocol,

1951

news reading using the NNTP protocol, local news reading, and

1952

local ReadOnly folders which are in the traditional UNIX or the

1953

MMDF format all fall into this category. There are other cases

1954

where it _may_ be a way to discover new mail, but _Alpine_ has

1955

no way of knowing, so it might also just be an exercise in

1956

futility. All remote, ReadOnly folders other than those listed

1957

just above fall into this category. The setting of this option

1958

together with the type of folder controls how _Alpine_ will

1959

react to the apparent attempt to reopen a folder.

1960

If you don't reopen, then you will just be back in the message

1961

index with no change. You left the index and came back, but the

1962

folder remained "open" the whole time. However, if you do reopen

1963

the folder, the folder is closed and then reopened. In this

1964

case, the current state of the open folder is lost. The New

1965

status, Important and Answered flags, selected state, Zoom

1966

state, collapsed or expanded state of threads, current message

1967

number, and any other temporary state is all lost when the

1968

reopen happens. For POP folders (but not NNTP newsgroups) the

1969

Deleted flags are also lost.

1970

In the possibilities listed below, the text says "POP/NNTP" in

1971

several places. That really implies the case where _Alpine_

1972

knows it is a good way to discover new mail, which is more than

1973

just POP and NNTP, but POP and NNTP are the cases of most

1974

interest. This option probably has more possible values than it

1975

deserves. They are:

1976

1977

Always reopen

1978

_Alpine_ will not ask whether you want to reopen but will

1979

just do the reopen whenever you type a command that

1980

implies a reopen, regardless of the access method. In

1981

other words, it is assumed you would always answer Yes if

1982

asked about reopening.

1983

1984

Yes for POP/NNTP, Ask about other remote [Yes]

1985

_Alpine_ will assume a Yes answer if the access method is

1986

POP or NNTP, but will ask you whether to reopen other

1987

remote folders, with a default answer of Yes.

1988

1989

Yes for POP/NNTP, Ask about other remote [No]

1990

_Alpine_ will assume a Yes answer if the access method is

1991

POP or NNTP, but will ask you whether to reopen other

1992

remote folders, with a default answer of No.

1993

1994

Yes for POP/NNTP, No for other remote

1995

_Alpine_ will assume a Yes answer if the access method is

1996

POP or NNTP, and will assume a No answer for all other

1997

remote folders.

1998

1999

Always ask [Yes]

2000

_Alpine_ will not differentiate based on access method. It

2001

will always ask for all remote folders, with a default

2002

answer of Yes.

2003

2004

Always ask [No]

2005

_Alpine_ will not differentiate based on access method. It

2006

will always ask for all remote folders, with a default

2007

answer of No.

2008

2009

Ask about POP/NNTP [Yes], No for other remote

2010

_Alpine_ will ask if the access method is POP or NNTP,

2011

with a default answer of Yes. It will never attempt to

2012

reopen other remote folders.

2013

2014

Ask about POP/NNTP [No], No for other remote

2015

This is the default. _Alpine_ will ask if the access

2016

method is POP or NNTP, with a default answer of No. It

2017

will never attempt to reopen other remote folders.

2018

2019

Never reopen

2020

_Alpine_ will never attempt to reopen already open

2021

folders.

2022

2023

Remember, wherever it says POP or NNTP above it really means POP

2024

or NNTP or any of the other situations where it is likely that

2025

reopening is a good way to discover new mail.

2026

There is an alternative that may be of useful in some

2027

situations. Instead of manually checking for new mail you can

2028

set up a Mail Drop and automatically check for new mail.

2029

_folder-sort-rule_

2030

This option controls the order in which folder list entries will

2031

be presented in the FOLDER LIST screen. Choose one of the

2032

following:

2033

2034

_Alphabetical_

2035

sort by alphabetical name independent of type

2036

2037

_Alpha-with-dirs-last_

2038

sort by alphabetical name grouping directory entries to

2039

the end of the list

2040

2041

_Alpha-with-dirs-first_

2042

sort by alphabetical name grouping directory entries to

2043

the start of the list

2044

2045

The normal default is _Alphabetical_.

2046

_font-name_

2047

Winsock version of _PC-Alpine_ only.

2048

_font-size_

2049

Winsock version of _PC-Alpine_ only.

2050

_font-style_

2051

Winsock version of _PC-Alpine_ only.

2052

_forced-abook-entry_

2053

System-wide _Alpine_ configuration files only. Force these

2054

address book entries into all writable personal address books.

2055

This is a list variable. Each item in the list has the form:

2056

2057

Nickname | Fullname | Address

2058

with optional whitespace in all the obvious places.

2059

_form-letter-folder_

2060

A Form Letter Folder is a mail folder that is intended to

2061

contain messages that you have composed and that are intended to

2062

be sent in their original form repeatedly.

2063

Setting this variable will alter _Alpine_'s usual behavior when

2064

you execute the Compose command. Normally, _Alpine_ offers a

2065

chance to continue a postponed or interrupted message should one

2066

or the other exist. When this variable is set to a folder name

2067

that exists, _Alpine_ will also offer the chance to select a

2068

message from the folder to insert into the composer, much like

2069

when continuing a postponed message. The difference, however, is

2070

that _Alpine_ will not automatically delete the selected message

2071

from the Form Letter Folder.

2072

Setting this variable will also affect _Alpine_'s behavior when

2073

you Postpone a message from the composer. Normally, _Alpine_

2074

simply stashes the message away in your Postponed-Folder.

2075

Regardless of the specified folder's existence, _Alpine_ will

2076

ask which folder you intend the message to be stored in. Choose

2077

the "F" option to store the message in your Form Letter Folder.

2078

This is the most common way to add a message to the folder.

2079

Another method of adding messages to the folder is via the

2080

_Alpine_ composer's Fcc: field. If you are sending a message that

2081

you expect to send in the same form again, you can enter the

2082

Form Letter Folder's name in this field. _Alpine_, as usual,

2083

will copy the message as it's sent. Note, when you later select

2084

this message from your Form Letter Folder, it will have the same

2085

recipients as the original message.

2086

To delete a message from the Form Letter Folder, you can either

2087

select the folder from a suitable FOLDER LIST screen, or use the

2088

Delete command in the MESSAGE INDEX offered when selecting from

2089

the folder as part of the Compose command. You can delete a Form

2090

Letter Folder just as any other folder from a suitable FOLDER

2091

LIST screen.

2092

You may find that the Roles facility can be used to replace the

2093

Form Letter Folder.

2094

_global-address-book_

2095

A list of shared address books. Each entry in the list is an

2096

optional nickname followed by a pathname or file name relative

2097

to the home directory. A SPACE character separates the nickname

2098

from the rest of the line. Instead of a local pathname or file

2099

name, a remote folder name can be given. This causes the address

2100

book to be a Remote address book. Remote folder syntax is

2101

discussed in Syntax for Remote Folders. This list will be added

2102

to the address-book list to arrive at the complete set of

2103

address books. Global address books are defined to be ReadOnly.

2104

_goto-default-rule_

2105

This value affects _Alpine_'s behavior when using the _Goto_

2106

command. There are five possible values for this option:

2107

2108

_folder-in-first-collection_

2109

_Alpine_ will offer the most recently visited folder in

2110

the default collection found in the "Collection List"

2111

screen as the default.

2112

2113

_inbox-or-folder-in-first-collection_

2114

If the current folder is _INBOX_, _Alpine_ will offer the

2115

most recently visited folder in the default collection

2116

found in the "Collection List" screen. If the current

2117

folder is other than _INBOX_, _INBOX_ is offered as the

2118

default.

2119

2120

_inbox-or-folder-in-recent-collection_

2121

This is _Alpine_'s default behavior. If the current folder

2122

is _INBOX_, _Alpine_ will offer the last open folder as

2123

the default. If the current folder is other than _INBOX_,

2124

_INBOX_ is offered as the default.

2125

2126

_first-collection-with-inbox-default_

2127

Instead of offering the most recently visited folder in

2128

the default collection, the default collection is offered

2129

but with _INBOX_ as the default folder. If you type in a

2130

folder name it will be in the default collection. If you

2131

simply accept the default, however, your _INBOX_ will be

2132

opened.

2133

2134

_most-recent-folder_

2135

The last accepted value simply causes the most recently

2136

opened folder to be offered as the default regardless of

2137

the currently opened folder.

2138

2139

NOTE: The default while a newsgroup is open remains the same;

2140

the last open newsgroup.

2141

_header-general-background-color_

2142

_header-general-foreground-color_

2143

Header Colors.

2144

_image-viewer_

2145

This variable names the program to call for displaying parts of

2146

a MIME message that are of type IMAGE. If your system supports

2147

the _mailcap_ system, you don't need to set this variable.

2148

_inbox-path_

2149

This specifies the name of the folder to use for the _INBOX_. By

2150

default this is unset and the system's default is used. The most

2151

common reason for setting this is to open an IMAP mailbox for

2152

the _INBOX_. For example, _{imap5.u.example.edu}inbox_ will open

2153

the user's standard _INBOX_ on the mail server, _imap5_.

2154

_incoming-archive-folders_

2155

This is like read-message-folder, only more general. This is a

2156

list of folder pairs, with the first separated from the second

2157

in the pair by a space. The first folder in a pair is the folder

2158

you want to archive, and the second folder is the folder that

2159

read messages from the first should be moved to. Depending on

2160

how you define the auto-move-read-msgs feature, you may or may

2161

not be asked when you leave the first folder if you want read

2162

messages to be moved to the second folder. In either case,

2163

moving the messages means they will be deleted from the first

2164

folder.

2165

If these are not path names, they will be in the default

2166

collection for _Save_s. Any valid folder specification, local or

2167

remote (via IMAP), is allowed. There is no default.

2168

_incoming-check-interval_

2169

This option has no effect unless the feature

2170

enable-incoming-folders-checking is set, which in turn has no

2171

effect unless incoming-folders is set.

2172

This option specifies, in seconds, how often _Alpine_ will check

2173

for new mail and state changes in Incoming Folders when Incoming

2174

Folders Checking is turned on. The default is 3 minutes (180).

2175

This value applies only to folders that are local to the system

2176

that _Alpine_ is running on or that are accessed using the IMAP

2177

protocol. The similar option incoming-check-interval-secondary

2178

applies to all other monitored folders.

2179

_incoming-check-interval-secondary_

2180

This option has no effect unless the feature

2181

enable-incoming-folders-checking is set, which in turn has no

2182

effect unless incoming-folders is set.

2183

This option together with the option incoming-check-interval

2184

specifies, in seconds, how often _Alpine_ will check for new

2185

mail and state changes in Incoming Folders when Incoming Folders

2186

Checking is turned on. The default for this option is 3 minutes

2187

(180). For folders that are local to this system or that are

2188

accessed using the IMAP protocol the value of the option

2189

incoming-check-interval is used. For all other monitored

2190

folders, the value of this option is used.

2191

The reason there are two separate options is because it is

2192

usually less expensive to check local and IMAP folders than it

2193

is to check other types, like POP or NNTP folders. You may want

2194

to set this secondary value to a higher number than the primary

2195

check interval.

2196

_incoming-check-list_

2197

This option has no effect unless the feature

2198

enable-incoming-folders-checking is set, which in turn has no

2199

effect unless incoming-folders is set.

2200

When monitoring the Incoming Message Folders for Unseen messages

2201

Alpine will normally monitor all Incoming Folders. You may use

2202

this option to restrict the list of monitored folders to a

2203

subset of all Incoming Folders.

2204

_incoming-check-timeout_

2205

This option has no effect unless the feature

2206

enable-incoming-folders-checking is set, which in turn has no

2207

effect unless incoming-folders is set.

2208

Sets the time in seconds that Alpine will attempt to open a

2209

network connection used for monitoring for Unseen messages in

2210

Incoming Folders. The default is 5. If a connection has not

2211

completed within this many seconds Alpine will give up and

2212

consider it a failed connection.

2213

_incoming-folders_

2214

This is a list of one or more folders other than _INBOX_ that

2215

may receive new messages. This list is slightly special in that

2216

it is always expanded in the folder lister. In the future, it

2217

may become more special. For example, it would be nice if

2218

_Alpine_ would monitor the folders in this list for new mail.

2219

_incoming-startup-rule_

2220

This rule affects _Alpine_'s behavior when opening the _INBOX_

2221

or another folder from the "INCOMING MESSAGE FOLDERS". This rule

2222

tells _Alpine_ which message to make the current message when an

2223

incoming folder is opened. There are seven possible values for

2224

this option:

2225

2226

_first-unseen_

2227

The current message will be the first unseen message which

2228

has not been marked deleted, or the last message if all of

2229

the messages have been seen. This is the default setting.

2230

2231

_first-recent_

2232

This is similar to _first-unseen_. Instead of first unseen

2233

it is the first recent message. A message is considered to

2234

be recent if it arrived since the last time the folder was

2235

open (by any mail client, not just the current one). So

2236

this option causes the current message to be set to the

2237

first undeleted-recent message, or the last message if

2238

none is both undeleted and recent.

2239

2240

_first-important_

2241

This will result in the current message being set to the

2242

first message marked Important (but not Deleted). If no

2243

messages are marked Important, then it will be the last

2244

message.

2245

2246

_first-important-or-unseen_

2247

This selects the minimum of the first unseen and the first

2248

important messages.

2249

2250

_first-important-or-recent_

2251

This selects the first of the first recent and the first

2252

important messages.

2253

2254

_first_

2255

Set the current message to the first undeleted message

2256

unless all are deleted. In that case set it to the last

2257

message.

2258

2259

_last_

2260

Set the current message to the last undeleted message

2261

unless all are deleted. In that case set it to the last

2262

message.

2263

2264

_incoming-unseen-background-color_

2265

_incoming-unseen-foreground-color_

2266

Incoming Unseen Color.

2267

_index-answered-background-color_

2268

_index-answered-foreground-color_

2269

_index-arrow-background-color_

2270

_index-arrow-foreground-color_

2271

_index-deleted-background-color_

2272

_index-deleted-foreground-color_

2273

_index-from-background-color_

2274

_index-from-foreground-color_

2275

_index-highpriority-background-color_

2276

_index-highpriority-foreground-color_

2277

_index-important-background-color_

2278

_index-important-foreground-color_

2279

_index-lowpriority-background-color_

2280

_index-lowpriority-foreground-color_

2281

_index-new-background-color_

2282

_index-new-foreground-color_

2283

_index-opening-background-color_

2284

_index-opening-foreground-color_

2285

_index-recent-background-color_

2286

_index-recent-foreground-color_

2287

_index-subject-background-color_

2288

_index-subject-foreground-color_

2289

_index-to-me-background-color_

2290

_index-to-me-foreground-color_

2291

_index-unseen-background-color_

2292

_index-unseen-foreground-color_

2293

Index Colors.

2294

_index-format_

2295

This option is used to customize the content of lines in the

2296

MESSAGE INDEX screen. Each line is intended to convey some

2297

amount of immediately relevant information about each message in

2298

the current folder.

2299

_Alpine_ provides a pre-defined set of informational fields with

2300

reasonable column widths automatically computed. You can,

2301

however, replace this default set by listing special tokens in

2302

the order you want them displayed.

2303

The list of available tokens is here.

2304

Spaces are used to separate listed tokens. Additionally, you can

2305

specify how much of the screen's width the taken's associated

2306

data should occupy on the index line by appending the token with

2307

a pair of parentheses enclosing either a number or percentage.

2308

For example, "SUBJECT(13)" means to allocate 13 characters of

2309

space to the subject column, and "SUBJECT(20%)" means to

2310

allocate 20% of the available space to the subjects column,

2311

while plain "SUBJECT" means the system will attempt to figure

2312

out a reasonable amount of space.

2313

There is always one space between every pair of columns, so if

2314

you use fixed column widths (like 13) you should remember to

2315

take that into account. Several of the fields are virtually

2316

fixed-width, so it doesn't make much sense to specify the width

2317

for them. The fields STATUS, FULLSTATUS, IMAPSTATUS, MSGNO, the

2318

DATE fields, SIZE, and DESCRIPSIZE all fall into that category.

2319

You _may_ specify widths for those if you wish, but you're

2320

probably better off letting the system pick those widths.

2321

The default is equivalent to:

2322

2323

index-format=STATUS MSGNO SMARTDATETIME24 FROMORTO(33%) SIZENARROW SUBJ

2324

KEY(67%)

2325

This means that the four fields without percentages will be

2326

allocated first, and then 33% and 67% of the _remaining_ space

2327

will go to the from and subject fields. If one of those two

2328

fields is specified as a percentage and the other is left for

2329

the system to choose, then the percentage is taken as an

2330

absolute percentage of the screen, not of the space remaining

2331

after allocating the first four columns. It doesn't usually make

2332

sense to do it that way. If you leave off all the widths, then

2333

the subject and from fields (if both are present) are allocated

2334

space in a 2 to 1 ratio, which is almost exactly the same as the

2335

default.

2336

What you are most likely to do with this configuration option is

2337

to specify which fields appear at all, which order they appear

2338

in, and the percentage of screen that is used for the from and

2339

subject fields if you don't like the 2 to 1 default.

2340

If you want to retain the default format that _Pine_ 4.64 had,

2341

use

2342

2343

Index-Format=STATUS MSGNO DATE FROMORTO(33%) SIZE SUBJKEY(67%)

2344

_and_ set the feature Disable-Index-Locale-Dates.

2345

_initial-keystroke-list_

2346

This is a comma-separated list of keystrokes which _Alpine_

2347

executes on startup. Items in the list are usually just

2348

characters, but there are some special values. _SPACE,_ _TAB,_

2349

and _CR_ mean a space character, tab character, and a carriage

2350

return, respectively. _F1_ through _F12_ stand for the twelve

2351

function keys. _UP, DOWN, LEFT, _and_ RIGHT _stand for the arrow

2352

keys. Control characters are represented with _^<char>_. A

2353

restriction is that you can't mix function keys and character

2354

keys in this list even though you can, in some cases, mix them

2355

when running _Alpine_. A user can always use only _character_

2356

keys in the startup list even if he or she is using _function_

2357

keys normally, or vice versa. If an element in this list is a

2358

string surrounded by double quotes (") then it will be expanded

2359

into the individual characters in the string, excluding the

2360

double quotes.

2361

_kblock-passwd-count_

2362

System-wide _Alpine_ configuration files only. Number of times a

2363

user will have to enter a password when they run the keyboard

2364

lock command in the main menu.

2365

_keyboard-character-set_

2366

See the discussion in International Character Sets for details.

2367

_keylabel-background-color_

2368

_keylabel-foreground-color_

2369

KeyLabel Color.

2370

_keyname-background-color_

2371

_keyname-foreground-color_

2372

KeyName Color.

2373

_keywords_

2374

You may define your own set of keywords and optionally set them

2375

on a message by message basis. These are similar to the

2376

"Important" flag which the user may set using the Flag command.

2377

The difference is that the Important flag is always present for

2378

each folder. User-defined keywords are chosen by the user. You

2379

may set up the list of possible keywords here, or you may add

2380

keywords from the Flag Details screen that you can get to after

2381

typing the Flag (*) command. After the keywords have been

2382

defined, then you use the Flag command to set or clear the

2383

keywords in each message. The behavior of the flag command may

2384

be modified by using the Enable-Flag-Screen-Implicitly option or

2385

the Enable-Flag-Screen-Keyword-Shortcut option.

2386

Keywords may be used when Selecting messages (Select Keyword).

2387

Keywords may also be used in the Patterns of Rules (Filters,

2388

Indexcolors, etc). Filter rules may be used to set keywords

2389

automatically. Keywords may be displayed as part of the Subject

2390

of a message by using the SUBJKEY or SUBJKEYINIT tokens in the

2391

Index-Format option. The Keyword-Surrounding-Chars option may be

2392

used to modify the display of keywords using SUBJKEY and

2393

SUBJKEYINIT slightly. Keywords may also be displayed in a column

2394

of their own in the MESSAGE INDEX screen by using the KEY or

2395

KEYINIT tokens. It is also possible to color keywords in the

2396

index using the Setup/Kolor screen (Keyword Colors). Keywords

2397

are not supported by all mail servers.

2398

You may give keywords nicknames if you wish. If the keyword

2399

definition you type in contains a SPACE character, then the

2400

actual value of the keyword is everything after the last SPACE

2401

and the nickname for that keyword is everything before the last

2402

SPACE. For example, suppose you are trying to interoperate with

2403

another email program which uses a particular keyword with an

2404

unpleasant name. Maybe it uses a keyword called

2405

2406

VendorName.SoftwareName.08

2407

but for you that keyword means that the message is work-related.

2408

You could define a keyword to have the value

2409

2410

Work VendorName.SoftwareName.08

2411

and then you would use the name "Work" when dealing with that

2412

keyword in _Alpine_. If you defined it as

2413

2414

My Work VendorName.SoftwareName.08

2415

the nickname would be everything before the last SPACE, that is

2416

the nickname would be "My Work".

2417

Some commonly used keywords begin with dollar signs. This

2418

presents a slight complication, because the dollar sign is

2419

normally used to signify environment variable expansion in the

2420

_Alpine_ configuration. In order to specify a keyword which

2421

begins with a dollar sign you must precede the dollar sign with

2422

a second dollar sign to escape its special meaning. For example,

2423

if you want to include the keyword

2424

2425

$Label1

2426

as one of your possible keywords, you must enter the text

2427

2428

$$Label1

2429

instead.

2430

_keyword-surrounding-chars_

2431

This option controls a minor aspect of _Alpine_'s MESSAGE INDEX

2432

and MESSAGE TEXT screens. If you have modified the Index-Format

2433

option so that either the "SUBJKEY" or "SUBJKEYINIT" tokens are

2434

used to display keywords or their initials along with the

2435

Subject; then this option may be used to modify the resulting

2436

display slightly. By default, the keywords or initials displayed

2437

for these tokens will be surrounded with curly braces ({ and })

2438

and a trailing space. For example, if keywords "Work" and "Now"

2439

are set for a message, the "SUBJKEY" token will normally look

2440

like

2441

2442

{Work Now} actual subject

2443

and the SUBJKEYINIT token would look like

2444

2445

{WN} actual subject

2446

The default character before the keywords is the left brace ({)

2447

and the default after the keywords is the right brace followed

2448

by a space (} ).

2449

This option allows you to change that. You should set it to two

2450

values separated by a space. The values may be quoted if they

2451

include space characters. So, for example, the default value

2452

could be specified explicitly by setting this option to

2453

2454

Keyword-Surrounding-Chars="{" "} "

2455

The first part wouldn't need to be quoted (but it doesn't hurt).

2456

The second part does need the quotes because it includes a space

2457

character. If you wanted to change the braces to brackets you

2458

could use

2459

2460

Keyword-Surrounding-Chars="[" "] "

2461

Inside the quotes you can use backslash quote to mean quote, so

2462

2463

Keyword-Surrounding-Chars="\"" "\" "

2464

would produce

2465

2466

"Work Now" actual subject

2467

It is also possible to color keywords in the index using the

2468

Setup/Kolor screen (Keyword Colors).

2469

It is not possible to change the fact that a space character is

2470

used to separate the keywords if more than one keyword is set

2471

for a message. It is also not possible to change the fact that

2472

there are no separators between the keyword initials if more

2473

than one keyword is set.

2474

This option is displayed as "Keyword Surrounding Characters".

2475

_last-time-prune-questioned_

2476

Personal configuration file only. This variable records the

2477

month the user was last asked if his or her _sent-mail_ folders

2478

should be pruned. The format is _yy.mm_. This is automatically

2479

updated by _Alpine_ when the the pruning is done or declined. If

2480

a user wanted to make _Alpine_ stop asking this question he or

2481

she could set this time to something far in the future. This may

2482

not be set in the system-wide configuration files. Note: The _yy_

2483

year is actually the number of years since 1900, so it will be

2484

equal to 101 in the year 2001.

2485

_last-version-used_

2486

Personal configuration file only. This is set automatically by

2487

_Alpine_. It is used to keep track of the last version of _Alpine_

2488

that was run by the user. Whenever the version number increases,

2489

a new version message is printed out. This may not be set in the

2490

system-wide configuration files.

2491

_ldap-servers_

2492

This is only available if _Alpine_ was linked with an LDAP

2493

library when it was compiled. This variable is normally managed

2494

by _Alpine_ though it can be set in the system-wide

2495

configuration files as well as the personal configuration. It is

2496

a list variable. Each item in the list contains quite a bit of

2497

extra information besides just the server name. To put this into

2498

a system-wide config file the easiest thing to do is to

2499

configure a personal _Alpine_ for the LDAP server then copy the

2500

configuration line into the system-wide config file. Each item

2501

in the list looks like:

2502

2503

server_name[:port] "quoted stuff"

2504

The server_name is just a hostname and it is followed by an

2505

optional colon and port number. The default port is 389.

2506

Following the server name is a single SPACE character followed

2507

by a bunch of characters inside double quotes. The part inside

2508

the quotes is a set of _tag_ = _value_ pairs. Each tag is

2509

preceded by a slash (/) and followed by an equal sign. The value

2510

for that tag is the text up to the next slash. An example of

2511

some quoted stuff is:

2512

2513

"/base=o=University of Washington, c=US/impl=0/.../nick=My Server"

2514

This would set the search base for this server to o=University

2515

of Washington, c=US, set the implicit bit to zero, and set the

2516

nickname for the server to My Server. All of the tags correspond

2517

directly to items in the Setup/Directory screen so experiment

2518

with that if you want to see what the possible tags and values

2519

are.

2520

_literal-signature_

2521

With this option your actual signature, as opposed to the name

2522

of a file containing your signature, is stored in the _Alpine_

2523

configuration file. If this is defined it takes precedence over

2524

the _signature-file_ option.

2525

This is simply a different way to store the signature data. The

2526

signature is stored inside your _Alpine_ configuration file

2527

instead of in a separate signature file. Tokens contained in the

2528

signature work the same way they do with the regular

2529

signature-file.

2530

The Setup/Signature command in _Alpine_'s Main Menu will edit

2531

the _literal-signature_ by default. However, if no

2532

_literal-signature_ is defined and the file named in the

2533

_signature-file_ option exists, then the latter will be used

2534

instead. Compose (Reply, Forward, ...) will default to using the

2535

_literal-signature_ if defined, otherwise it will use the

2536

contents of the file named in _signature-file_.

2537

The _Alpine_ composer is used to edit the literal-signature. The

2538

result of that edit is first converted to a C-style string

2539

before it is stored in the configuration file. In particular,

2540

the two character sequence \n (backslash followed by the

2541

character "n") will be used to signify a line-break in the

2542

signature. You don't have to enter the \n, but it will be

2543

visible in the SETUP CONFIGURATION window after you are done

2544

editing the signature.

2545

_mail-check-interval_

2546

This option specifies, in seconds, how often _Alpine_ will check

2547

for new mail. If set to zero, new-mail checking is disabled.

2548

(You can always manually force a new-mail check by typing ^L

2549

(Ctrl-L), which is also the command to refresh the screen, or by

2550

typing the Next command when the current message is the last

2551

message of the folder.) There is a minimum value for this

2552

option, normally 15 seconds. The default value is normally 150

2553

seconds. The higher you set this option, the easier it is on the

2554

server.

2555

There are some situations where automatic new-mail checking does

2556

not work. See the discussion about new-mail checking in

2557

folder-reopen-rule.

2558

The new-mail checking will not happen exactly at the frequency

2559

that you specify. For example, _Alpine_ may elect to defer a

2560

non-INBOX mail check if you are busy typing. Or, it may check

2561

more frequently than you have specified if that is thought to be

2562

necessary to keep the server from closing the connection to the

2563

folder due to inactivity. If _Alpine_ checks for new mail as a

2564

side effect of another command, it will reset the timer, so that

2565

new-mail checking may seem to happen irregularly instead of

2566

every X seconds like clockwork.

2567

If you are anxious to know about new mail as soon as possible,

2568

set the check interval low, and you'll know about the new mail

2569

by approximately that amount of time after it arrives. If you

2570

aren't so worried about knowing right away, set this option to a

2571

higher value. That will save the server some processing time and

2572

may save you some of the time you spend waiting for new-mail

2573

checks to happen if you are dealing with a slow server or slow

2574

network connection.

2575

If you suspect that new-mail checking is causing slow downs for

2576

you, you may want to look into the options

2577

Quell-Mailchecks-Composing-Except-Inbox,

2578

Quell-Mailchecks-Composing-Inbox and

2579

Mail-Check-Interval-Noncurrent, which refine when mail checking

2580

is done.

2581

If the mailbox being check uses a Mail Drop then there is a

2582

minimum time (maildrop-check-minimum) between new-mail checks.

2583

Because of this minimum you may notice that new mail does not

2584

appear promptly when you expect it. The reason for this is to

2585

protect the server from over-zealous opening and closing of the

2586

Mail Drop folder, since that is a costly operation.

2587

A side effect of disabling mail checking is that there will be

2588

situations in which the user's IMAP connection will be broken

2589

due to inactivity timers on the server. Another side effect is

2590

that the user-input-timeout option won't work.

2591

_mail-check-interval-noncurrent_

2592

This option is closely related to the Mail-Check-Interval

2593

option, as well as the Quell-Mailchecks-Composing-Except-Inbox

2594

and Quell-Mailchecks-Composing-Inbox options. If the

2595

"Mail-Check-Interval" option is set to zero, then automatic

2596

new-mail checking is disabled and this option will have no

2597

effect.

2598

Normally this option is set to zero, which means that the value

2599

used will be the same as the value for the

2600

"Mail-Check-Interval". If you set this option to a value

2601

different from zero (usually larger than the value for

2602

"Mail-Check-Interval") then that is the check interval that will

2603

be used for folders which are not the currently open folder or

2604

the INBOX. You may not even have any folders that are noncurrent

2605

and not the INBOX. If you do, it is likely that they are due to

2606

Stay-Open-Folders you have configured. This option also affects

2607

the rate of mail checking done on cached connections to folders

2608

you previously had open but are no longer actively using. You

2609

aren't expected to understand that last sentence, but if you are

2610

interested take a look at Max-Remote-Connections, and the

2611

related options.

2612

_mail-directory_

2613

This variable was more important in previous versions of

2614

_Alpine_. Now it is used only as the default for storing personal

2615

folders (and only if there are no folder-collections defined).

2616

The default value is _~/mail_ on UNIX and _${HOME}\MAIL_ on a

2617

PC.

2618

_mailcap-search-path_

2619

This variable is used to replace _Alpine_'s default mailcap file

2620

search path. It takes one or more file names (full paths must be

2621

specified) in which to look for mail capability data.

2622

_maildrop-check-minimum_

2623

New-mail checking for a Mail Drop is a little different from new

2624

mail checking for a regular folder. One of the differences is

2625

that the connection to the Mail Drop is not kept open and so the

2626

cost of checking (delay for you and additional load for the

2627

server) may be significant. Because of this additional cost we

2628

set a minimum time that must pass between checks. This minimum

2629

only applies to the automatic checking done by _Alpine_. If you

2630

force a check by typing ^L (Ctrl-L) or by typing the Next

2631

command when you are at the end of a folder index, then the

2632

check is done right away.

2633

This option specifies, in seconds, the _minimum_ time between

2634

Mail Drop new-mail checks. You may want to set this minimum high

2635

in order to avoid experiencing some of the delays associated

2636

with the checks. Note that the time between checks is still

2637

controlled by the regular Mail-Check-Interval option. When

2638

_Alpine_ is about to do an automatic check for new mail (because

2639

the Mail-Check-Interval has expired) then if the time since the

2640

last new-mail check of any open Mail Drops has been greater than

2641

the MailDrop-Check-Minimum, the Mail Drop is checked for new

2642

mail as well. Therefore, it is only useful to set this option to

2643

a value that is higher than the Mail-Check-Interval.

2644

If this option is set to zero, automatic Mail Drop new-mail

2645

checking is disabled. There is a minimum value, normally 60

2646

seconds. The default value is normally 60 seconds as well. This

2647

applies to the INBOX and to the currently open folder if that is

2648

different from the INBOX.

2649

_max-remote-connections_

2650

This option affects low-level behavior of _Alpine_. The default

2651

value for this option is _2_. If your INBOX is accessed using

2652

the IMAP protocol from an IMAP server, that connection is kept

2653

open throughout the duration of your _Alpine_ session,

2654

independent of the value of this option. The same is true of any

2655

Stay-Open-Folders you have defined. This option controls

2656

_Alpine_'s behavior when connecting to remote IMAP folders other

2657

than your INBOX or your Stay-Open-Folders. It specifies the

2658

maximum number of remote IMAP connections (other than those

2659

mentioned above) that _Alpine_ will use for accessing the rest

2660

of your folders. If you set this option to zero, you will turn

2661

off most remote connection re-use. It's difficult to understand

2662

exactly what this option does, and it is usually fine to leave

2663

it set to its default value. It is probably more likely that you

2664

will be interested in setting the Stay-Open-Folders option

2665

instead of changing the value of this option. A slightly longer

2666

explanation of what is going on with this option is given in the

2667

next paragraphs.

2668

There are some time costs involved in opening and closing remote

2669

IMAP folders, the main costs being the time you have to wait for

2670

the connection to the server and the time for the folder to

2671

open. Opening a folder may involve not only the time the server

2672

takes to do its processing but time that _Alpine_ uses to do

2673

filtering. These times can vary widely. They depend on how

2674

loaded the server is, how large the folder being opened is, and

2675

how you set up filtering, among other things. Once _Alpine_ has

2676

opened a connection to a particular folder, it will attempt to

2677

keep that connection open in case you use it again. In order to

2678

do this, _Alpine_ will attempt to use the Max-Remote-Connections

2679

(the value of this option) IMAP connections you have alloted for

2680

this purpose.

2681

For example, suppose the value of this option is set to "2". If

2682

your INBOX is accessed on a remote server using the IMAP

2683

protocol, that doesn't count as one of the remote connections

2684

but it is always kept open. If you then open another IMAP

2685

folder, that would be your first remote connection counted as

2686

one of the Max-Remote-Connections connections. If you open a

2687

third folder the second will be left open, in case you return to

2688

it. You won't be able to tell it has been left open. It will

2689

appear to be closed when you leave the folder but the connection

2690

will remain in the background. Now suppose you go back to the

2691

second folder (the first folder after the INBOX). A connection

2692

to that folder is still open so you won't have to wait for the

2693

startup time to open it. Meanwhile, the connection to the third

2694

folder will be left behind. Now, if you open a fourth folder,

2695

you will bump into the Max-Remote-Connections limit, because

2696

this will be the third folder other than INBOX and you have the

2697

option set to "2". The connection that is being used for the

2698

third folder will be re-used for this new fourth folder. If you

2699

go back to the third folder after this, it is no longer already

2700

connected when you get there. You'll still save some time since

2701

_Alpine_ will re-use the connection to the fourth folder and you

2702

have already logged in on that connection, but the folder will

2703

have to be re-opened from scratch.

2704

If a folder is large and the startup cost is dominated by the

2705

time it takes to open that folder or to run filters on it, then

2706

it will pay to make the value of this option large enough to

2707

keep it open. On the other hand, if you only revisit a handful

2708

of folders or if the folders are small, then it might make more

2709

sense to keep this number small so that the reconnect time (the

2710

time to start up a new connection and authenticate) is

2711

eliminated instead.

2712

You may also need to consider the impact on the server. On the

2713

surface, a larger number here may cause a larger impact on the

2714

server, since you will have more connections open to the server.

2715

On the other hand, not only will _you_ be avoiding the startup

2716

costs associated with reopening a folder, but the _server_ will

2717

be avoiding those costs as well.

2718

When twenty five minutes pass without any active use of an IMAP

2719

connection being saved for possible re-use, that connection will

2720

be shut down,

2721

This option is displayed as "Maximum Remote Connections".

2722

_meta-message-background-color_

2723

_meta-message-foreground-color_

2724

Meta-message Color.

2725

_mimetype-search-path_

2726

This variable is used to replace _Alpine_'s default mime.types

2727

file search path. It takes one or more file names (full paths

2728

must be specified) in which to look for file-name-extension to

2729

MIME type mapping data. See the Config Notes for details on

2730

_Alpine_'s usage of the MIME.Types File.

2731

_new-version-threshold_

2732

When a new version of _Alpine_ is run for the first time it

2733

offers a special explanatory screen to the user upon startup.

2734

This option helps control when and if that special screen

2735

appears for users that have previously run _Alpine_. It takes as

2736

its value a _Alpine_ version number. _Alpine_ versions less than

2737

the specified value will supress this special screen while

2738

versions equal to or greater than that specified will behave

2739

normally.

2740

_newmail-fifo-path_

2741

This option is only available in UNIX _Alpine_. However, there

2742

is a very similar feature built in to _PC-Alpine_. In

2743

_PC-Alpine_'s Config menu at the top of the screen is an option

2744

called "New Mail Window".

2745

You may have _Alpine_ create a FIFO special file (also called a

2746

named pipe, see mkfifo(3) and fifo(4)) where it will send a

2747

one-line message each time a new message is received in the

2748

current folder, the INBOX, or any open Stay-Open-Folders. To

2749

protect against two different _Alpine_s both writing to the same

2750

FIFO, _Alpine_ will only create the FIFO and write to it if it

2751

doesn't already exist.

2752

A possible way to use this option would be to have a separate

2753

window on your screen running the command

2754

2755

cat filename

2756

where "filename" is the name of the file given for this option.

2757

Because the file won't exist until after you start _Alpine_, you

2758

must _first_ start _Alpine_ and _then_ run the "cat" command.

2759

You may be tempted to use "tail -f filename" to view the new

2760

mail log. However, the common implementations of the tail

2761

command will not do what you are hoping.

2762

The width of the messages produced for the FIFO may be altered

2763

with the NewMail-Window-Width option.

2764

On some systems, fifos may only be created in a local

2765

filesystem. In other words, they may not be in NFS filesystems.

2766

This requirement is not universal. If the system you are using

2767

supports it, it should work. (It is often the case that your

2768

home directory is in an NFS filesystem. If that is the case, you

2769

might try using a file in the "/tmp" filesystem, which is

2770

usually a local filesytem.) Even when it is possible to use an

2771

NFS-mounted filesystem as a place to name the fifo (for example,

2772

your home directory), it will still be the case that the reader

2773

(probably the "cat" command) and the writer (_Alpine_) of the

2774

fifo must be running on the same system.

2775

_newmail-window-width_

2776

UNIX _Alpine_ only.

2777

This option is only useful if you have turned on the

2778

NewMail-FIFO-Path option. That option causes new mail messages

2779

to be sent to a fifo file. Those messages will be 80 characters

2780

wide by default. You can change the width of the messages by

2781

changing this option. For example, if you are reading those

2782

messages in another window you might want to set this width to

2783

the width of that other window.

2784

For UNIX _Alpine_, this option is only useful if you have turned

2785

on the NewMail-FIFO-Path option. That option causes new mail

2786

messages to be sent to a fifo file. Those messages will be 80

2787

characters wide by default. You can change the width of those

2788

messages by changing this option. For example, if you are

2789

reading those messages in another window you might want to set

2790

this width to the width of that other window.

2791

If you are using _PC-Alpine_, it has an option in the Config

2792

menu to turn on the "New Mail Window". The present option also

2793

controls the width of that window.

2794

_news-active-file-path_

2795

This option tells _Alpine_ where to look for the "active file"

2796

for newsgroups when accessing news locally, rather than via

2797

NNTP. The default path is usually /usr/lib/news/active.

2798

_news-collections_

2799

This is a list of collections where news folders are located.

2800

See the section describing collections for more information.

2801

_news-spool-directory_

2802

This option tells _Alpine_ where to look for the "news spool"

2803

for newsgroups when accessing news locally, rather than via

2804

NNTP. The default path is usually /usr/spool/news.

2805

_newsrc-path_

2806

This option overrides the default name _Alpine_ uses for your

2807

"newsrc" news status and subscription file. If set, _Alpine_

2808

will take this value as the full pathname for the desired newsrc

2809

file.

2810

_nntp-range_

2811

This option applies only to newsgroups accessed using the NNTP

2812

protocol. It does not, for example, apply to newsgroups accessed

2813

using an IMAP-to-NNTP proxy.

2814

When you open a connection to a News server using the NNTP

2815

protocol, you normally have access to all of the articles in

2816

each newsgroup. If a server keeps a large backlog of messages it

2817

may speed performance some to restrict attention to only the

2818

newer messages in a group. This option allows you to set how

2819

many article numbers should be checked when opening a newsgroup.

2820

You can think of "nntp-range" as specifying the maximum number

2821

of messages you ever want to see. For example, if you only ever

2822

wanted to look at the last 500 messages in each newsgroup you

2823

could set this option to 500. In actuality, it isn't quite that.

2824

Instead, for performance reasons, it specifies the range of

2825

article numbers to be checked, beginning with the highest

2826

numbered article and going backwards from there. If there are

2827

messages that have been canceled or deleted their article

2828

numbers are still counted as part of the range.

2829

So, more precisely, setting the "nntp-range" will cause article

2830

numbers

2831

2832

last_article_number - nntp-range + 1 through last_article_number

2833

to be considered when reading a newsgroup. The number of

2834

messages that show up in your index will be less than or equal

2835

to the value of "nntp-range".

2836

The purpose of this option is simply to speed up access when

2837

reading news. The speedup comes because _Alpine_ can ignore all

2838

but the last nntp-range article numbers, and can avoid

2839

downloading any information about the ignored articles. There is

2840

a cost you pay for this speedup. That cost is that there is no

2841

way for you to see those ignored articles. The articles that

2842

come before the range you specify are invisible to you and to

2843

_Alpine_, as if they did not exist at all. There is no way to see

2844

those messages using, for example, an unexclude command or

2845

something similar. The only way to see those articles is to set

2846

this option high enough (or set it to zero) and then to reopen

2847

the newsgroup.

2848

If this option is set to 0 (which is also the default), then the

2849

range is unlimited. This option applies globally to all NNTP

2850

servers and to all newsgroups on those servers. There is no way

2851

to set different values for different newsgroups or servers.

2852

_nntp-server_

2853

One or more NNTP servers (host name or IP address) which _Alpine_

2854

will use for reading and posting news. If you read and post news

2855

to and from a single NNTP server, you can get away with only

2856

setting the _nntp-server_ variable and leaving the

2857

_news-collections_ variable unset.

2858

When you define an NNTP server, _Alpine_ implicitly defines a

2859

news collection for you, assuming that server as the news server

2860

and assuming that you will use the NNTP protocol and a local

2861

newsrc configuration file for reading news. See also Configuring

2862

News.

2863

Your NNTP server may offer NNTP "AUTHINFO SASL" or "AUTHINFO

2864

USER" authentication. It may even require it. If your NNTP

2865

server does offer such authentication you may specify a user

2866

name parameter to cause _Alpine_ to attempt to authenticate. The

2867

same is true for the server name in a folder collection which

2868

uses NNTP. This parameter requires an associated value, the

2869

username identifier with which to establish the server

2870

connection. An example might be:

2871

2872

nntpserver.example.com/user=katie

2873

If authentication is offered by the server, this will cause

2874

_Alpine_ to attempt to use it. If authentication is not offered

2875

by the server, this will cause _Alpine_ to fail with an error

2876

similar to:

2877

2878

Error: NNTP authentication not available

2879

For more details about the server name possibilities see Server

2880

Name Syntax.

2881

_normal-background-color_

2882

_normal-foreground-color_

2883

Normal Color.

2884

_opening-text-separator-chars_

2885

This option controls a minor aspect of _Alpine_'s MESSAGE INDEX

2886

screen. With some setups the text of the subject is followed by

2887

the opening text of the message if there is any room available

2888

in the index line. If you have configured your Index-Format

2889

option to include one of the Subject tokens which causes this

2890

behavior (SUBJECTTEXT, SUBJKEYTEXT, or SUBJKEYINITTEXT), then

2891

this option may be used to modify what is displayed slightly. By

2892

default, the Subject is separated from the opening text of the

2893

message by the three characters space dash space;

2894

2895

" - "

2896

Use this option to set it to something different. The value must

2897

be quoted if it includes any space characters. For example, the

2898

default value could be specified explicitly by setting this

2899

option to

2900

2901

Opening-Text-Separator-Chars=" - "

2902

This option is displayed as "Opening Text Separator Characters".

2903

_operating-dir_

2904

System-wide _Alpine_ configuration files only. This names the

2905

root of the tree to which the user is restricted when reading

2906

and writing folders and files. It is usually used in the _fixed_

2907

configuration file.

2908

_patterns-filters2_

2909

Matching patterns and their corresponding actions are stored in

2910

this variable. These patterns are used with Filtering. This

2911

variable is normally maintained through the Setup/Rules/Filters

2912

configuration screen. It is a list variable. Each member of the

2913

list is a single pattern/action pair, or it can be a file which

2914

contains zero or more lines of pattern/action pairs. The only

2915

way to create a filters file is to use the InsertFile command in

2916

the Setup/Rules/Filters screen with a filename which doesn't yet

2917

exist. Then use the Shuffle command to move existing filter

2918

patterns into the file. This isn't very convenient but it isn't

2919

thought that many users will need this functionality. The

2920

purpose of filter files is for sharing filters.

2921

This option is displayed as "Patterns Filters".

2922

_patterns-indexcolors_

2923

Matching patterns and their corresponding actions are stored in

2924

this variable. These patterns are used for Index Line Colors.

2925

This variable is normally maintained through the

2926

Setup/Rules/Indexcolor configuration screen. It is a list

2927

variable. Each member of the list is a single pattern/action

2928

pair, or it can be a file which contains zero or more lines of

2929

pattern/action pairs. The only way to create a indexcolor file

2930

is to use the InsertFile command in the Setup/Rules/Indexcolor

2931

screen with a filename which doesn't yet exist. Then use the

2932

Shuffle command to move existing patterns into the file. This

2933

isn't very convenient but it isn't thought that many users will

2934

need this functionality. The purpose of indexcolor files is for

2935

sharing indexcolors.

2936

_patterns-other_

2937

Matching patterns and their corresponding actions are stored in

2938

this variable. These patterns are used with Miscellaneous Rules

2939

configuration. This variable is normally maintained through the

2940

Setup/Rules/Other configuration screen. It is a list variable.

2941

Each member of the list is a single pattern/action pair, or it

2942

can be a file which contains zero or more lines of

2943

pattern/action pairs. The only way to create a rules file is to

2944

use the InsertFile command in the Setup/Rules/Other screen with

2945

a filename which doesn't yet exist. Then use the Shuffle command

2946

to move existing rules into the file. This isn't very convenient

2947

but it isn't thought that many users will need this

2948

functionality.

2949

_patterns-roles_

2950

Matching patterns and their corresponding actions are stored in

2951

this variable. These patterns are used with Roles. This variable

2952

is normally maintained through the Setup/Rules/Roles

2953

configuration screen. It is a list variable. Each member of the

2954

list is a single pattern/action pair, or it can be a file which

2955

contains zero or more lines of pattern/action pairs. The only

2956

way to create a roles file is to use the InsertFile command in

2957

the Setup/Rules/Roles screen with a filename which doesn't yet

2958

exist. Then use the Shuffle command to move existing roles into

2959

the file. This isn't very convenient but it isn't thought that

2960

many users will need this functionality. The purpose of role

2961

files is for sharing roles.

2962

_patterns-scores2_

2963

Matching patterns and their corresponding actions are stored in

2964

this variable. These patterns are used with Scoring. This

2965

variable is normally maintained through the

2966

Setup/Rules/SetScores configuration screen. It is a list

2967

variable. Each member of the list is a single pattern/action

2968

pair, or it can be a file which contains zero or more lines of

2969

pattern/action pairs. The only way to create a scores file is to

2970

use the InsertFile command in the Setup/Rules/SetScores screen

2971

with a filename which doesn't yet exist. Then use the Shuffle

2972

command to move existing scoring patterns into the file. This

2973

isn't very convenient but it isn't thought that many users will

2974

need this functionality. The purpose of scoring files is for

2975

sharing scoring rules.

2976

This option is displayed as "Patterns Scores".

2977

_patterns-search_

2978

Matching patterns for use with the Select command are stored in

2979

this variable. These patterns are used with Search Rules

2980

configuration. This variable is normally maintained through the

2981

Setup/Rules/searCh configuration screen. It is a list variable.

2982

Each member of the list is a single pattern, or it can be a file

2983

which contains zero or more lines of patterns. The only way to

2984

create a rules file is to use the InsertFile command in the

2985

Setup/Rules/searCh screen with a filename which doesn't yet

2986

exist. Then use the Shuffle command to move existing rules into

2987

the file. This isn't very convenient but it isn't thought that

2988

many users will need this functionality.

2989

_personal-name_

2990

Personal configuration file only. User's full personal name. On

2991

UNIX systems, the default is taken from the accounts data base

2992

(/etc/passwd). The easiest way to change the full From address

2993

is with the customized-hdrs variable.

2994

_personal-print-category_

2995

Personal configuration file only. This is the category that the

2996

default print command belongs to. There are three categories.

2997

Category 1 is an attached printer which uses the ANSI escape

2998

sequence, category 2 is the standard system print command, and

2999

category 3 is the set of custom printer commands defined by the

3000

user. This just helps _Alpine_ figure out where to put the

3001

cursor when the user runs the _Setup/Printer_ command. This is

3002

not used by _PC-Alpine_.

3003

_personal-print-command_

3004

Personal configuration file only. This corresponds to the third

3005

category in the printer menu, the personally selected print

3006

commands. This variable contains the list of custom commands

3007

that the user has entered in the _Setup/Printer_ screen. This is

3008

not used by _PC-Alpine_.

3009

_posting-character-set_

3010

See the discussion in International Character Sets for details.

3011

_postponed-folder_

3012

The folder where postponed messages are stored. The default is

3013

_postponed-msgs_ (Unix) or _POSTPOND_ (PC).

3014

_print-font-name_

3015

Winsock version of _PC-Alpine_ only.

3016

_print-font-size_

3017

Winsock version of _PC-Alpine_ only.

3018

_print-font-style_

3019

Winsock version of _PC-Alpine_ only.

3020

_printer_

3021

Personal configuration file only. This is the current setting

3022

for a user's printer. This variable is set from _Alpine_'s

3023

_Setup/Printer_ screen.

3024

_prompt-background-color_

3025

_prompt-foreground-color_

3026

Prompt Color.

3027

_pruned-folders_

3028

This variable allows you to define a list of one or more folders

3029

that _Alpine_ will offer to prune for you in the same way it

3030

automatically offers to prune your "sent-mail" folder each

3031

month. Each folder in this list must be a folder in your default

3032

folder collection (the first folder collection if you have more

3033

than one), and it is just the relative name of the folder in the

3034

collection, not the fully-qualified name. It is similar to

3035

sent-mail. Instead of something like

3036

3037

pruned-folders={servername}mail/folder

3038

the correct value to use would be

3039

3040

folder

3041

There is an assumption here that your first collection is the

3042

folders in

3043

3044

{servername}mail

3045

Once a month, for each folder listed, _Alpine_ will offer to

3046

move the contents of the folder to a new folder of the same name

3047

but with the previous month's date appended. _Alpine_ will then

3048

look for any such date-appended folder names created for a

3049

previous month, and offer each one it finds for deletion.

3050

If you decline the first offer, no mail is moved and no new

3051

folder is created.

3052

The new folders will be created in your default folder

3053

collection.

3054

_pruning-rule_

3055

By default, _Alpine_ will ask at the beginning of each month

3056

whether or not you want to rename your sent-mail folder to a

3057

name like sent-mail-month-year. (See the feature

3058

prune-uses-yyyy-mm to change the format of the folder to

3059

sent-mail-yyyy-mm.) It will also ask whether you would like to

3060

delete old sent-mail folders. If you have defined

3061

read-message-folder or pruned-folders _Alpine_ will also ask

3062

about pruning those folders. With this option you may provide an

3063

automatic answer to the rename questions and you may tell

3064

_Alpine_ to not ask about deleting old folders.

3065

_quote1-background-color_

3066

_quote1-foreground-color_

3067

_quote2-background-color_

3068

_quote2-foreground-color_

3069

_quote3-background-color_

3070

_quote3-foreground-color_

3071

Quote Colors.

3072

_quote-replace-string_

3073

This option specifies what string to use as a quote when

3074

_viewing_ a message. The standard way of quoting messages when

3075

replying is the string "> " (quote space). With this variable

3076

set, viewing a message will replace occurrences of "> " with the

3077

replacement string. This setting works best when

3078

Reply-Indent-String or the equivalent setting in your

3079

correspondents' mail programs is set to the default "> ", but it

3080

will also work fine with the Reply-Indent-String set to ">".

3081

Enable the feature Quote-Replace-Nonflowed to also have

3082

quote-replacement performed on non-flowed messages.

3083

Setting this option will replace ">" and "> " with the new

3084

setting. This string may include trailing spaces. To preserve

3085

those spaces enclose the full string in double quotes.

3086

No padding to separate the text of the message from the quote

3087

string is added. This means that if you do not add trailing

3088

spaces to the value of this variable, text will be displayed

3089

right next to the quote string, which may be undesirable. This

3090

can be avoided by adding a new string separated by a space from

3091

your selection of quote string replacement. This last string

3092

will be used for padding. For example, setting this variable to

3093

">" " " has the effect of setting ">" as the

3094

quote-replace-string, with the text padded by a space from the

3095

last quote string to make it more readable.

3096

One possible setting for this variable could be " " (four

3097

spaces wrapped in quotes), which would have the effect of

3098

indenting each level of quoting four spaces and removing the

3099

">"'s. Different levels of quoting could be made more

3100

discernible by setting colors for quoted text.

3101

Replying to or forwarding the viewed message will preserve the

3102

original formatting of the message, so quote-replacement will

3103

not be performed on messages that are being composed.

3104

_quote-suppression-threshold_

3105

This option should be used with care. It will cause some of the

3106

quoted text to be eliminated from the display when viewing a

3107

message in the MESSAGE TEXT screen. For example, if you set the

3108

Quote-Suppression-Threshold to the value "5", this will cause

3109

quoted text that is longer than five lines to be truncated.

3110

Quoted text of five or fewer consecutive lines will be displayed

3111

in its entirety. Quoted text of more than six lines will have

3112

the first five lines displayed followed by a line that looks

3113

something like

3114

3115

[ 12 lines of quoted text hidden from view ]

3116

As a special case, if exactly one line of quoted text would be

3117

hidden, the entire quote will be shown instead. So for the above

3118

example, quoted text which is exactly six lines long will will

3119

be shown in its entirety. (In other words, instead of hiding a

3120

single line and adding a line that announces that one line was

3121

hidden, the line is just shown.)

3122

If the sender of a message has carefully chosen the quotes that

3123

he or she includes, hiding those quotes may change the meaning

3124

of the message. For that reason, _Alpine_ requires that when you

3125

want to set the value of this variable to something less than

3126

four lines, you actually have to set it to the negative of that

3127

number. So if you want to set this option to "3", you actually

3128

have to set it to "-3". The only purpose of this is to get you

3129

to think about whether or not you really want to do this! If you

3130

want to delete all quoted text you set the value of this option

3131

to the special value "-10".

3132

The legal values for this option are

3133

3134

0 Default, don't hide anything

3135

-1,-2,-3 Suppress quote lines past 1, 2, or 3 lines

3136

4,5,6,... Suppress if more than that many lines

3137

-10 Suppress all quoted lines

3138

If you set this option to a non-default value you may sometimes

3139

wish to view the quoted text that is not shown. When this is the

3140

case, the HdrMode (Header Mode) command may be used to show the

3141

hidden text. Typing the "H" command once will show the hidden

3142

text. Typing a second "H" will also turn on Full Header mode.

3143

The presence or absence of the HdrMode command is determined by

3144

the "Enable-Full-Header-Cmd" Feature-List option in your _Alpine_

3145

configuration, so you will want to be sure that is turned on if

3146

you use quote suppression.

3147

For the purposes of this option, a quote is a line that begins

3148

with the character ">".

3149

Quotes are only suppressed when displaying a message on the

3150

screen. The entire quote will be left intact when printing or

3151

forwarding or something similar.

3152

_read-message-folder_

3153

If set, mail in the _INBOX_ that has been read but not deleted

3154

is moved here, or rather, the user is asked whether or not he or

3155

she wants to move it here upon quitting _Alpine_.

3156

_remote-abook-history_

3157

Sets how many extra copies of remote address book data will be

3158

kept in each remote address book folder. The default is three.

3159

These extra copies are simply old versions of the data. Each

3160

time a change is made a new copy of the address book data is

3161

appended to the folder. Old copies are trimmed, if possible,

3162

when _Alpine_ exits. An old copy can be put back into use by

3163

deleting and expunging newer versions of the data from the

3164

folder. Don't delete the first message from the folder. It is a

3165

special header message for the remote address book and it must

3166

be there. This is to prevent regular folders from being used as

3167

remote address book folders and having their data destroyed.

3168

_remote-abook-metafile_

3169

Personal configuration file only. This is usually set by _Alpine_

3170

and is the name of a file that contains data about remote

3171

address books and remote configuration files.

3172

_remote-abook-validity_

3173

Sets the minimum number of minutes that a remote address book

3174

will be considered up to date. Whenever an entry contained in a

3175

remote address book is used, if more than this many minutes have

3176

passed since the last check the remote server will be queried to

3177

see if the address book has changed. If it has changed, the

3178

local copy is updated. The default value is five minutes. The

3179

special value of -1 means never check. The special value of zero

3180

means only check when the address book is first opened.

3181

No matter what the value, the validity check is always done when

3182

the address book is about to be changed by the user. The check

3183

can be initiated manually by typing _^L_ (Ctrl-L) while in the

3184

address book maintenance screen for the remote address book.

3185

_reply-indent-string_

3186

This variable specifies an aspect of _Alpine_'s _Reply_ command.

3187

When a message is replied to and the text of the message is

3188

included, the included text usually has the string "> "

3189

prepended to each line indicating it is quoted text.

3190

This option specifies a different value for that string. If you

3191

wish to use a string which begins or ends with a space, enclose

3192

the string in double quotes.

3193

Besides simple text, the prepended string can be based on the

3194

message being replied to. The following tokens are substituted

3195

for the message's corresponding value:

3196

3197

_FROM_

3198

This token gets replaced with the message sender's

3199

"username". At most six characters are used.

3200

3201

_NICK_

3202

This token gets replaced with the nickname of the message

3203

sender's address as found in your addressbook. If no

3204

addressbook entry is found, Pine replaces the characters

3205

"_NICK_" with nothing. At most six characters are used.

3206

3207

_INIT_

3208

This token gets replaced with the initials of the sender

3209

of the message.

3210

3211

When the enable-reply-indent-string-editing feature is enabled,

3212

you are given the opportunity to edit the string, whether it is

3213

the default or one automatically generated using the above

3214

tokens.

3215

_reply-leadin_

3216

This option is used to customize the content of the introduction

3217

line that is included when replying to a message and including

3218

the original message in the reply. The normal default (what you

3219

will get if you delete this variable) looks something like:

3220

3221

On Sat, 24 Oct 1998, Fred Flintstone wrote:

3222

where the day of the week is only included if it is available in

3223

the original message. You can replace this default with text of

3224

your own. The text may contain tokens that are replaced with

3225

text that depends on the message you are replying to. For

3226

example, the default is equivalent to:

3227

3228

On _DAYDATE_, _FROM_ wrote:

3229

Since this variable includes regular text mixed with special

3230

tokens the tokens have to be surrounded by underscore

3231

characters. For example, to use the token "PREFDATE" you would

3232

need to use "_PREFDATE_", not "PREFDATE".

3233

The list of available tokens is here.

3234

By default, the text is all on a single line and is followed by

3235

a blank line. If your _Reply-Leadin_ turns out to be longer than

3236

80 characters when replying to a particular message, it is

3237

shortened. However, if you use the token

3238

3239

_NEWLINE_

3240

anywhere in the value, no end of line or blank line is appended,

3241

and no shortening is done. The _NEWLINE_ token may be used to

3242

get rid of the blank line following the text, to add more blank

3243

lines, or to form a multi-line _Reply-Leadin_. To clarify how

3244

_NEWLINE_ works recall that the default value is:

3245

3246

On _DAYDATE_, _FROM_ wrote:

3247

That is equivalent to

3248

3249

On _DAYDATE_, _FROM_ wrote:_NEWLINE__NEWLINE_

3250

In the former case, two newlines are added automatically because

3251

no _NEWLINE_ token appears in the value of the option (for

3252

backwards compatibility). In the latter case, the newlines are

3253

explicit. If you want to remove the blank line that follows the

3254

_Reply-Leadin_ text use a single _NEWLINE_ token like

3255

3256

On _DAYDATE_, _FROM_ wrote:_NEWLINE_

3257

Because of the backwards compatibility problem, it is not

3258

possible to remove all of the ends of lines, because then there

3259

will be no _NEWLINE_ tokens and that will cause the automatic

3260

adding of two newlines! If you want, you may embed newlines in

3261

the middle of the text, as well, producing a multi-line

3262

_Reply-Leadin_.

3263

By default, no attempt is made to localize the date. If you

3264

prefer a localized form you may find that one of the tokens

3265

_PREFDATE_ or _PREFDATETIME_ is a satisfactory substitute. If

3266

you want more control one of the many other date tokens, such as

3267

_DATEISO_, might be better.

3268

For the adventurous, there is a way to conditionally include

3269

text based on whether or not a token would result in specific

3270

replacement text. For example, you could include some text based

3271

on whether or not the _NEWS_ token would result in any

3272

newsgroups if it was used. It's explained in detail here.

3273

In the very unlikely event that you want to include a literal

3274

token in the introduction line you must precede it with a

3275

backslash character. For example,

3276

3277

\_DAYDATE_ = _DAYDATE_

3278

would produce something like

3279

3280

_DAYDATE_ = Sat, 24 Oct 1998

3281

It is not possible to have a literal backslash followed by an

3282

expanded token.

3283

_reverse-background-color_

3284

_reverse-foreground-color_

3285

Reverse Color.

3286

_rsh-command_

3287

Sets the format of the command used to open a UNIX remote shell

3288

connection. The default is "%s %s -l %s exec /etc/r%sd". All

3289

four "%s" entries MUST exist in the provided command. The first

3290

is for the command's pathname, the second is for the host to

3291

connnect to, the third is for the user to connect as, and the

3292

fourth is for the connection method (typically imap).

3293

_rsh-open-timeout_

3294

Sets the time in seconds that _Alpine_ will attempt to open a

3295

UNIX remote shell connection. The default is 15, the minimum

3296

non-zero value is 5, and the maximum is unlimited. If this is

3297

set to zero rsh connections will be completely disabled.

3298

_rsh-path_

3299

Sets the name of the command used to open a UNIX remote shell

3300

connection. The default is typically /usr/ucb/rsh.

3301

_saved-msg-name-rule_

3302

Determines default folder name when _Sav_ing. If set to

3303

_default-folder_ (which is the default setting), then _Alpine_

3304

will offer the folder "saved-messages" (UNIX) or "SAVEMAIL" (PC)

3305

for _Sav_ing messages. The default folder offered in this way

3306

may be changed by using the configuration variable

3307

default-saved-msg-folder.

3308

If this rule is set to _last-folder-used_, _Alpine_ offers to

3309

_Save_ to the folder you last successfully _Saved_ a message to

3310

(this session). The first time you _Save_ a message in a

3311

session, _Alpine_ offers to _Save_ the message to the default

3312

folder.

3313

Choosing any of the _by-_ options causes _Alpine_ to attempt to

3314

get the chosen option's value for the message being _Saved_ (or

3315

for the first message being Saved if using an aggregate Save).

3316

For example, if _by-from_ is chosen, _Alpine_ attempts to get

3317

the value of who the message came from (i.e. the from address).

3318

_Alpine_ then attempts to _Save_ the message to a folder matching

3319

that value. If _by-from_ is chosen and no value is obtained,

3320

_Alpine_ uses _by-sender_. The opposite is also true. If

3321

_by-recipient_ was chosen and the message was posted to a

3322

newsgroup, _Alpine_ will use the newsgroup name. If _by-replyto_

3323

is chosen and no value is obtained, _Alpine_ uses _by-from_.

3324

If any of the "by-realname" options are chosen, _Alpine_ will

3325

attempt to use the personal name part of the address instead of

3326

the mailbox part. If any of the "by-nick" options are chosen,

3327

the address is looked up in your address book and if found, the

3328

nickname for that entry is used. Only simple address book

3329

entries are checked, not distribution lists. Similarly, if any

3330

of the "by-fcc" options are chosen, the fcc from the

3331

corresponding address book entry is used. If by-realname, or the

3332

by-nick or by-fcc lookups result in no value, then if the chosen

3333

option ends with the "then-from", "then-sender", "then-replyto",

3334

or "then-recip" suffix, _Alpine_ reverts to the same behavior as

3335

"by-from", "by-sender", "by-replyto", or "by-recip" depending on

3336

which option was specified. If the chosen option doesn't end

3337

with one of the "then-" suffixes, then _Alpine_ reverts to the

3338

default folder when no match is found in the address book.

3339

Here is an example to make some of the options clearer. If the

3340

message is From

3341

3342

Fred Flintstone <flint@bedrock.org>

3343

and this rule is set to "by-from", then the default folder

3344

offered in the save dialog would be "flint".

3345

If this rule is set to "by-realname-of-from" then the default

3346

would be "Fred Flintstone".

3347

If this rule is set to "by-nick-of-from" then _Alpine_ will

3348

search for the address "flint@bedrock.org" in your address book.

3349

If an entry is found and it has a nickname associated with it,

3350

that nickname will be offered as the default folder. If not, the

3351

default saved message folder will be offered as the default.

3352

If this rule is set to "by-fcc-of-from" then _Alpine_ will

3353

search for the address "flint@bedrock.org" in your address book.

3354

If an entry is found and it has an Fcc associated with it, that

3355

Fcc will be offered as the default folder. If not, the default

3356

saved message folder will be offered as the default.

3357

If this rule is set to "by-nick-of-from-then-from" then _Alpine_

3358

will search for the address "flint@bedrock.org" in your address

3359

book. If an entry is found and it has a nickname associated with

3360

it, that nickname will be offered as the default folder. If it

3361

is not found (or has no nickname) then the default offered will

3362

be the same as it would be for the "by-from" rule. That is, it

3363

would be "flint"

3364

This option is displayed as "Saved Message Name Rule".

3365

_scroll-margin_

3366

This option controls when _Alpine_'s line-by-line scrolling

3367

occurs. Typically, when a selected item is at the top or bottom

3368

screen edge and the UP or DOWN (and Ctrl-P or Ctrl-N) keys are

3369

pressed, the displayed items are scrolled down or up by a single

3370

line.

3371

This option allows you to tell _Alpine_ the number of lines from

3372

the top and bottom screen edge that line-by-line scrolling

3373

should occur. For example, setting this value to one (1) will

3374

cause _Alpine_ to scroll the display when you move to select an

3375

item on the display's top or bottom edge (instead of moving when

3376

you move off the edge of the screen).

3377

By default, this variable is zero (0), indicating that scrolling

3378

happens when you move up or down to select an item immediately

3379

off the display's top or bottom edge.

3380

_selectable-item-background-color_

3381

_selectable-item-foreground-color_

3382

Selectable-item Color.

3383

_sending-filters_

3384

This option defines a list of text-filtering commands (programs

3385

and scripts) that may be selectively invoked to process a

3386

message just before it is sent. If set, the Composer's _^X Send_

3387

command will allow you to select which filter (or none) to apply

3388

to the message before it is sent. For security reasons, the full

3389

path of the filter program must be specified.

3390

Sending filters do not work with _PC-Alpine_ and sending filters

3391

are not used if the feature send-without-confirm is set.

3392

Command Modifying Tokens:

3393

3394

__RECIPIENTS__

3395

When the command is executed, this token is replaced with

3396

the space delimited list of recipients of the message

3397

being sent.

3398

3399

__TMPFILE__

3400

When the command is executed, this token is replaced with

3401

the path and name of the temporary file containing the

3402

text to be filtered. _Alpine_ expects the filter to

3403

replace this data with the filter's result. NOTE: Use of

3404

this token implies that the text to be filtered is not

3405

piped into standard input of the executed command and its

3406

standard output is ignored. _Alpine_ restores the tty

3407

modes before invoking the filter in case the filter

3408

interacts with the user via its own standard input and

3409

output.

3410

3411

__RESULTFILE__

3412

When the command is executed, this token is replaced with

3413

the path and name of a temporary file intended to contain

3414

a status message from the filter. _Alpine_ displays this

3415

in the message status field.

3416

3417

__DATAFILE__

3418

When the command is executed, this token is replaced in

3419

the command line with the path and name of a temporary

3420

file that _Alpine_ creates once per session and deletes

3421

upon exit. The file is intended to be used by the filter

3422

to store state information between instances of the

3423

filter.

3424

3425

__PREPENDKEY__

3426

When the command is executed, this token indicates that a

3427

random number will be passed down the input stream before

3428

the message text. It is not included as a command-line

3429

argument. This number could be used as a session key. It

3430

is sent in this way to improve security. The number is

3431

unique to the current _Alpine_ session and is only

3432

generated once per session.

3433

3434

__INCLUDEALLHDRS__

3435

When the command is executed, this token indicates that

3436

the headers of the message will be passed down the input

3437

stream before the message text. It is not included as a

3438

command-line argument. The filter should, of course,

3439

remove the headers before returning control to _Alpine_.

3440

3441

__MIMETYPE__

3442

When the command is executed, this token is replaced in

3443

the command name with a temporary file name used to accept

3444

any new MIME Content-Type information necessitated by the

3445

output of the filter. Upon the filter's exit, if the file

3446

contains new MIME type information, _Alpine_ verifies its

3447

format and replaces the outgoing message's MIME type

3448

information with that contained in the file. This is

3449

basically a cheap way of sending something other than

3450

Text/Plain.

3451

3452

_sendmail-path_

3453

This names the path to an alternative program, and any necessary

3454

arguments, to be used in posting mail messages. See the section

3455

on SMTP and Sendmail for more details.

3456

_signature-file_

3457

This is the name of a file which will be automatically inserted

3458

into outgoing messages. It typically contains information such

3459

as your name, email address and organizational affiliation.

3460

_Alpine_ adds the signature into the message as soon as you enter

3461

the composer so you can choose to remove it or edit it on a

3462

message by message basis. Signature file placement in message

3463

replies is controlled by the signature-at-bottom setting in the

3464

feature list.

3465

This defaults to ~/.signature on UNIX and <PINERC

3466

directory>\PINE.SIG on a PC.

3467

To create or edit your signature file choose Setup from the Main

3468

Menu and then select S for Signature (Main/Setup/Signature).

3469

This puts you into the Signature Editor where you can enter a

3470

_few_ lines of text containing your identity and affiliation.

3471

If the filename is followed by a vertical bar (|) then instead

3472

of reading the contents of the file the file is assumed to be a

3473

program which will produce the text to be used on its standard

3474

output. The program can't have any arguments and doesn't receive

3475

any input from _Alpine_, but the rest of the processing works as

3476

if the contents came from a file.

3477

Instead of storing the data in a local file, the signature data

3478

may be stored remotely in an IMAP folder. In order to do this,

3479

you must use a remote name for the file. A remote signature-file

3480

name might look like:

3481

3482

{myimaphost.myschool.k12.wa.us}mail/signature

3483

or, if you have an SSL-capable version of _Alpine_, you might

3484

try

3485

3486

{myimaphost.myschool.k12.wa.us/user=loginname/ssl}mail/signature

3487

The syntax used here is the same as the syntax used for remote

3488

configuration files from the command line. Note that you may not

3489

access an existing signature file remotely, you have to create a

3490

new _folder_ which contains the signature data. If the name you

3491

use here for the signature file is a remote name, then when you

3492

edit the file from the Setup/Signature command the data will be

3493

stored remotely in the folder. You aren't required to do

3494

anything special to create the folder, it gets created

3495

automatically if you use a remote name.

3496

Besides regular text, the signature file may also contain (or a

3497

signature program may produce) tokens which are replaced with

3498

text which usually depends on the message you are replying to or

3499

forwarding. For example, if the signature file contains the

3500

token

3501

3502

_DATE_

3503

anywhere in the text, then that token is replaced by the date

3504

the message you are replying to or forwarding was sent. If it

3505

contains

3506

3507

_CURDATE_

3508

that is replaced with the current date. The first is an example

3509

of a token which depends on the message you are replying to (or

3510

forwarding) and the second is an example which doesn't depend on

3511

anything other than the current date. You have to be a little

3512

careful with this facility since tokens which depend on the

3513

message you are replying to or forwarding will be replaced by

3514

nothing in the case where you are composing a new message from

3515

scratch. The use of roles may help you in this respect. It

3516

allows you to use different signature files in different cases.

3517

The list of tokens available for use in the signature file is

3518

here.

3519

Instead of, or along with the use of _roles_ to give you

3520

different signature files in different situations, there is also

3521

a way to conditionally include text based on whether or not a

3522

token would result in specific replacement text. For example,

3523

you could include some text based on whether or not the _NEWS_

3524

token would result in any newsgroups if it was used. This is

3525

explained in detail here. This isn't for the faint of heart.

3526

In the very unlikely event that you want to include a literal

3527

token in the signature you must precede it with a backslash

3528

character. For example,

3529

3530

\_DAYDATE_ = _DAYDATE_

3531

would produce something like

3532

3533

_DAYDATE_ = Sat, 24 Oct 1998

3534

It is not possible to have a literal backslash followed by an

3535

expanded token.

3536

_signature-background-color_

3537

_signature-foreground-color_

3538

Signature Color.

3539

_smime-public-cert-directory_

3540

UNIX _Alpine_ only.

3541

If the option smime-public-cert-container is set then this

3542

option will have no effect.

3543

Normally, Public Certificates for use with S/MIME will be stored

3544

in the directory which is the value of this option. Those

3545

certificates will be stored in PEM format, one certificate per

3546

file. The name of the file for the certificate corresponding to

3547

3548

emailaddress

3549

should be

3550

3551

emailaddress.crt

3552

For example, a file for user@example.com would be in the file

3553

3554

user@example.com.crt

3555

in this directory.

3556

Use the Setup/SMIME screen to modify this variable.

3557

Typically, the public certificates that you have will come from

3558

S/MIME signed messages that are sent to you. _Alpine_ will

3559

extract the public certificate from the signed message and store

3560

it in the certificates directory. These PEM format public

3561

certificates look something like:

3562

-----BEGIN CERTIFICATE-----

3563

MIIFvTCCBKWgAwIBAgIQD4fYFHVI8T20yN4nus097DANBgkqhkiG9w0BAQUFADCB

3564

rjELMAkGA1UEBhMCVVMxCzAJBgNVBAgTAlVUMRcwFQYDVQQHEw5TYWx0IExha2Ug

3565

Q2l0eTEeMBwGA1UEChMVVGhlIFVTRVJUUlVTVCBOZXR3b3JrMSEwHwYDVQQLExho

3566

...

3567

2b9KGqDyMWW/rjNnmpjzjT2ObGM7lRA8lke4FLOLajhrz4ogO3b4DFfAAM1VSZH8

3568

D6sOwOLJZkLY8FRsfk63K+2EMzA2+qAzMKupgeTLqXIf

3569

-----END CERTIFICATE-----

3570

3571

+ General S/MIME Overview

3572

This option is displayed as "S/MIME - Public Cert Directory".

3573

_smime-public-cert-container_

3574

UNIX _Alpine_ only.

3575

If this option is set it will be used instead of

3576

smime-public-cert-directory

3577

This option gives you a way to store certificates remotely on an

3578

IMAP server instead of storing the certificates one per file

3579

locally. In order to do that you just give this option a remote

3580

folder name for a folder which does not yet exist. The name is

3581

similar to the name you might use for a remote configuration

3582

file. A remote folder name might look something like:

3583

3584

{myimaphost.myschool.k12.wa.us}mail/publiccerts

3585

Use the Setup/SMIME screen to modify this variable.

3586

+ General S/MIME Overview

3587

This option is displayed as "S/MIME - Public Cert Container".

3588

_smime-private-key-directory_

3589

UNIX _Alpine_ only.

3590

In order to sign outgoing S/MIME messages you will need a

3591

personal digital ID certificate. You will usually get such a

3592

certificate from a certificate authority such as Thawte or

3593

CAcert. (In order to encrypt outgoing messages you don't need a

3594

personal digital ID, you need the public certificate of the

3595

recipient instead.) If the option smime-private-key-container is

3596

set then this option will have no effect.

3597

Normally, Private Keys for use with S/MIME will be stored in the

3598

directory which is the value of this option. Those certificates

3599

will be stored in PEM format, one certificate per file. The name

3600

of the file for the certificate corresponding to your

3601

3602

emailaddress

3603

should be

3604

3605

emailaddress.key

3606

For example, if your address is user@example.com the name of the

3607

file would be

3608

3609

user@example.com.key

3610

in this directory.

3611

Use the Setup/SMIME screen to modify this variable.

3612

Typically, the private key that you have will come from a

3613

Certificate Authority. The private key should be stored in a PEM

3614

format file that looks something like:

3615

-----BEGIN RSA PRIVATE KEY-----

3616

Proc-Type: 4,ENCRYPTED

3617

DEK-Info: DES-EDE3-CBC,2CBD328FD84CF5C6

3618

3619

YBEXYLgLU9NJoc1V+vJ6UvcF08RX54S6jXsmgL0b5HGkudG6fhnmHkH7+UCvM5NI

3620

SXO/F8iuZDfs1VGG0NyitkFZ0Zn2vfaGovBvm15gx24b2xnZDLRB7/bNZkurnK5k

3621

VjAjZ2xXn2hFp2GJwqRdmxYNqsKGu52B99oti5HUWuZ2GFRaWjn5hYOqeApZE2uA

3622

...

3623

oSRqfI51UdSRt0tmGhHeTvybUVrHm9eKft8TTGf+qSBqzSc55CsmoVbRzw4Nfhix

3624

m+4TJybNGNfAgOctSkEyY/OCb49fRRQTCBZVIhzLGGmpYmkO55HbIA==

3625

-----END RSA PRIVATE KEY-----

3626

3627

+ General S/MIME Overview

3628

This option is displayed as "S/MIME - Private Key Directory".

3629

_smime-private-key-container_

3630

UNIX _Alpine_ only.

3631

If this option is set it will be used instead of

3632

smime-private-key-directory.

3633

This option gives you a way to store keys remotely on an IMAP

3634

server instead of storing the keys one per file locally. In

3635

order to do that you just give this option a remote folder name

3636

for a folder which does not yet exist. The name is similar to

3637

the name you might use for a remote configuration file. A remote

3638

folder name might look something like:

3639

3640

{myimaphost.myschool.k12.wa.us}mail/privatekeys

3641

Use the Setup/SMIME screen to modify this variable.

3642

+ General S/MIME Overview

3643

This option is displayed as "S/MIME - Private Key Container".

3644

_smime-cacert-directory_

3645

UNIX _Alpine_ only.

3646

If the option smime-cacert-container is set then this option

3647

will have no effect.

3648

CACert is a shorthand name for certification authority

3649

certificate. Normally _Alpine_ will use the CACerts that are

3650

located in the standard system location for CACerts. It may be

3651

the case that one of your correspondents has a Digital ID which

3652

has been signed by a certificate authority that is not in the

3653

regular set of system certificate authorities. You may

3654

supplement the system list by adding further certificates of

3655

your own. These should be stored in the directory which is the

3656

value of this option. The certificates will be stored in PEM

3657

format, one certificate per file. The names of the files can be

3658

anything ending in ".crt".

3659

Use the Setup/SMIME screen to modify this variable.

3660

These PEM format CA certificates look very similar to your

3661

public certificates for particular email addresses

3662

(smime-public-cert-directory).

3663

+ General S/MIME Overview

3664

This option is displayed as "S/MIME - Cert Authority Directory".

3665

_smime-cacert-container_

3666

UNIX _Alpine_ only.

3667

If this option is set it will be used instead of

3668

smime-cacert-directory.

3669

This option gives you a way to store certificates remotely on an

3670

IMAP server instead of storing the certificates one per file

3671

locally. In order to do that you just give this option a remote

3672

folder name for a folder which does not yet exist. The name is

3673

similar to the name you might use for a remote configuration

3674

file. A remote folder name might look something like:

3675

3676

{myimaphost.myschool.k12.wa.us}mail/cacerts

3677

Use the Setup/SMIME screen to modify this variable.

3678

+ General S/MIME Overview

3679

This option is displayed as "S/MIME - Cert Authority Container".

3680

_smtp-server_

3681

One or more SMTP servers (host name or IP address) which _Alpine_

3682

will use for outgoing mail. If not set, _Alpine_ passes outgoing

3683

email to the _sendmail_ program on the local machine. _PC-Alpine_

3684

users must have this variable set in order to send mail as they

3685

have no _sendmail_ program.

3686

Your SMTP server may offer SMTP AUTH authentication. It may even

3687

require it. If your SMTP server offers SMTP AUTH authentication

3688

you may specify a "user" name parameter to cause _Alpine_ to

3689

attempt to authenticate. This parameter requires an associated

3690

value, the username identifier with which to establish the

3691

server connection. An example might be:

3692

3693

smtpserver.example.com/user=katie

3694

If AUTH authentication is offered by the server, this will cause

3695

_Alpine_ to attempt to use it. If AUTH authentication is not

3696

offered by the server, this will cause _Alpine_ to fail sending

3697

with an error similar to:

3698

3699

Error: SMTP authentication not available

3700

Another type of authentication that is used by some ISPs is

3701

called "POP before SMTP" or "IMAP before SMTP", which means that

3702

you have to authenticate yourself to the POP or IMAP server by

3703

opening a mailbox before you can send mail. To do this, you

3704

usually only have to open your INBOX.

3705

You may tell _Alpine_ to use the Message Submission port (587)

3706

instead of the SMTP port (25) by including the "submit"

3707

parameter in this option. At this time "/submit" is simply

3708

equivalent to specifying port 587, though it may imply more than

3709

that at some point in the future. Some ISPs are blocking port 25

3710

in order to reduce the amount of spam being sent to their users.

3711

You may find that the submit option allows you to get around

3712

such a block.

3713

3714

smtpserver.example.com/submit

3715

To specify any non-standard port number on the SMTP server you

3716

may follow the hostname with a colon followed by the portnumber.

3717

3718

smtpserver.example.com:12345

3719

Normally, when a connection is made to the Smtp-Server _Alpine_

3720

will attempt to negotiate a secure (encrypted) session using

3721

Transport Layer Security (TLS). If that fails then a

3722

non-encrypted connection will be attempted instead. You may

3723

specify that a TLS connection is required if you wish. If you

3724

append "/tls" to the name then the connection will fail instead

3725

of falling back to a non-secure connection.

3726

3727

smtpserver.example.com/tls

3728

See the SMTP Servers section or the Server Name Syntax section

3729

for some more details.

3730

This option is displayed as "SMTP Server (for sending)".

3731

_sort-key_

3732

This variable sets up the default Message Index sorting. The

3733

default is to sort by arrival order (the order the messages

3734

arrived in the folder). It has the same functionality as the

3735

_-sort_ command line argument and the _$_ command in the "Folder

3736

Index". If a _sort-key_ is set, then all folders open during the

3737

session will have that as the default sort order.

3738

_speller_

3739

UNIX _Alpine_ only.

3740

For _PC-Alpine_, you must install the aspell library code that

3741

you may get from http://aspell.net/win32/.

3742

This option affects the behavior of the _^T_ (spell check)

3743

command in the Composer. It specifies the program invoked by _^T_

3744

in the Composer. By default, _Alpine_ uses the system's "spell"

3745

command. _Alpine_ will use the command defined by this option

3746

(if any) instead. When invoking the spell-checking program,

3747

_Alpine_ appends a tempfile name (where the message is passed) to

3748

the command line. _Alpine_ expects the speller to correct the

3749

spelling in that file. When you exit from the speller program

3750

_Alpine_ will read the tmpfile back into the composer.

3751

For Unix _Alpine_ the program _ispell_ works well as an

3752

alternate spell checker. If your Unix system has _ispell_ it is

3753

probably reasonable to make it the default speller by

3754

configuring it as the default in the system configuration file,

3755

/usr/local/lib/pine.conf.

3756

If this option is not set, then the system's _spell_ command is

3757

used. The spell command does not work the same as the alternate

3758

speller. It produces a list of misspelled words on its standard

3759

output, instead, and doesn't take a tempfile as an argument.

3760

Don't set this speller option to the standard Unix spell

3761

command. That won't work. If you want to use the standard Unix

3762

spell command, set the speller option to nothing.

3763

_ssh-command_

3764

Sets the format of the command used to open a UNIX secure shell

3765

connection. The default is "%s %s -l %s exec /etc/r%sd". All

3766

four "%s" entries MUST exist in the provided command. The first

3767

is for the command's pathname, the second is for the host to

3768

connnect to, the third is for the user to connect as, and the

3769

fourth is for the connection method (typically imap).

3770

_ssh-open-timeout_

3771

Sets the time in seconds that _Alpine_ will attempt to open a

3772

UNIX secure shell connection. The default is 15, the minimum

3773

non-zero value is 5, and the maximum is unlimited. If this is

3774

set to zero ssh connections will be completely disabled.

3775

_ssh-path_

3776

Sets the name of the command used to open a UNIX secure shell

3777

connection. The default is typically /usr/bin/ssh.

3778

_standard-printer_

3779

System-wide configuration file only. Specifies a list of

3780

commands for category 2 of the _Setup/Printer_ screen, the

3781

standard print command section. This is not used by _PC-Alpine_.

3782

_status-background-color_

3783

_status-foreground-color_

3784

Status Color.

3785

_status-message-delay_

3786

This option has evolved over time, causing the possible values

3787

to be counter-intuitive. Read carefully before you set this

3788

option. First we explain what the option does, then there is a

3789

longer discussion following that.

3790

If this is set to zero, the default value, it has _no_ effect.

3791

Positive and negative values serve two similar, but different

3792

purposes.

3793

If it is set to a positive number, it causes the cursor to move

3794

to the status line whenever a status message is printed and

3795

pause there for this many seconds. It will probably only be

3796

useful if the show-cursor feature is also turned on. Setting

3797

this option to a postive number can only be used to _increase_

3798

the status message delay. This may be useful for Braille

3799

displays, or other non-traditional displays.

3800

If it is set to a negative number the interpretation is a bit

3801

complicated. Negative numbers are used to _decrease_ the amount

3802

of delay _Alpine_ uses to allow you to read important status

3803

messages. Of course, this may cause you to miss some important

3804

messages. If you see a message flash by but miss what it says

3805

you can use the Journal command from the Main menu to read it.

3806

If you set this option to a negative value, the delay will be no

3807

more than one second less than the absolute value of the value

3808

you set. So if you set it to -1, the delay will be no more than

3809

zero seconds, no delay at all. If you set it to -2, the delay

3810

will be no more than 1 second. And so on, -3 is 2 seconds, -4 is

3811

3 seconds, ... If the delay that _Alpine_ would have used by

3812

default is less than this delay, then the smaller delay set by

3813

_Alpine_ will be used. Setting this option to a negative value

3814

can only reduce the amount of delay, never increase it.

3815

Here is a more detailed explanation. Status messages are the

3816

messages which show up spontaneously in the status message line,

3817

the third line from the bottom of the screen. By default,

3818

_Alpine_ assigns each status message it produces a minimum

3819

display time. Some status messages have a minimum display time

3820

of zero. You can see an example of such a message by paging up

3821

in this help text until you reach the top of the screen. If you

3822

try to page past the top you will see the message

3823

3824

[Already at start of help text]

3825

in the status line. If there is another more important use of

3826

the status message line this message might be replaced quickly,

3827

or it even might not be shown at all. However, if there is no

3828

reason to get rid of the message, it might stay there for

3829

several seconds while you read the help. An example where it is

3830

replaced immediately happens when you page up in the help text

3831

past the top of the screen, but then type the "WhereIs" command

3832

right after paging up. The message will disappear immediately

3833

without causing a delay (unless you have set this option to a

3834

positive value) to allow you to type input for the "WhereIs"

3835

command. Since it isn't a very important message, _Alpine_ has

3836

set its minimum display time to zero seconds.

3837

Other messages have minimum display times of three or more

3838

seconds. These are usually error messages that _Alpine_ thinks

3839

you ought to see. For example, it might be a message about a

3840

failed Save or a failed folder open. It is often the case that

3841

this minimum display time won't delay you in any way because the

3842

status message line is not needed for another reason. However,

3843

there are times when _Alpine_ has to delay what it is doing in

3844

order to display a status message for the minimum display time.

3845

This happens when a message is being displayed and _Alpine_

3846

wants to ask for input from the keyboard. For example, when you

3847

Save a message you use the status message line. You get a prompt

3848

there asking for the name of the folder to save to. If there is

3849

a status message being displayed that has not yet displayed for

3850

its minimum time _Alpine_ will display that status message

3851

surrounded with the characters > and < to show you that it is

3852

delaying. That might happen, for example, if you tried to save

3853

to a folder that caused an error, then followed that immediately

3854

with another Save command. You might find yourself waiting for a

3855

status message like

3856

3857

[>Can't get write access to mailbox, access is readonly<]

3858

to finish displaying for three seconds. If that is something you

3859

find happening to you frequently, you may use negative values of

3860

this option to decrease or eliminate that delay, at the risk of

3861

missing the message.

3862

_stay-open-folders_

3863

This option affects low-level behavior of _Alpine_. There is no

3864

default value for this option. It is related to the options

3865

Preopen-Stayopen-Folders, Max-Remote-Connections, and

3866

offer-expunge-of-Stayopen-Folders.

3867

Note: changes made to this list take effect the next time you

3868

open a folder in the list.

3869

This is a list of folders that will be permanently kept open

3870

once they are first opened. The names in this list may be either

3871

the nickname of an Incoming folder or the full technical

3872

specification of a folder. The folders in this list need not be

3873

remote IMAP folders, they could usefully be local folders, as

3874

well. If a folder in the list is a newsgroup or is not accessed

3875

either locally or via IMAP, then the entry will be ignored. For

3876

example, folders accessed via NNTP or POP3 will not be kept

3877

open, since the way that new mail is found with those protocols

3878

involves closing and reopening the connection.

3879

Once a Stay Open folder has been opened, new-mail checking will

3880

continue to happen on that folder for the rest of the _Alpine_

3881

session. Your INBOX is always implicitly included in this

3882

Stay-Open list and doesn't need to be added explicitly.

3883

Another difference that you may notice between a Stay Open

3884

folder and a non-Stay Open folder is which message is selected

3885

as the current message when you enter the folder index.

3886

Normally, the starting position for an incoming folder (which

3887

most Stay Open folders will likely be) is controlled by the

3888

Incoming-Startup-Rule. However, if a folder is a Stay Open

3889

folder, when you re-enter the folder after the first time the

3890

current message will be the same as it was when you left the

3891

folder. An exception is made if you use the TAB command to get

3892

to the folder. In that case, the message number will be

3893

incremented by one from what it was when you left the folder.

3894

The above special behavior is thought to be useful. However, it

3895

is special and different from what you might at first expect.

3896

The feature Use-Regular-Startup-Rule-for-Stayopen-Folders may be

3897

used to turn off this special treatment.

3898

If the message that was current when you left the folder no

3899

longer exists, then the regular startup rule will be used

3900

instead.

3901

This option is displayed as "Stayopen Folders".

3902

_tcp-open-timeout_

3903

Sets the time in seconds that _Alpine_ will attempt to open a

3904

network connection. The default is 30, the minimum is 5, and the

3905

maximum is system defined (typically 75). If a connection has

3906

not completed within this many seconds _Alpine_ will give up and

3907

consider it a failed connection.

3908

_tcp-query-timeout_

3909

When _Alpine_ times out a network read or write it will normally

3910

just display a message saying "Still waiting". However, if

3911

enough time has elapsed since it started waiting it will offer

3912

to let you break the connection. That amount of time is set by

3913

this option, which defaults to 60 seconds, has a minimum of 5

3914

seconds, and a maximum of 1000 seconds.

3915

_tcp-read-warning-timeout_

3916

Sets the time in seconds that _Alpine_ will wait for a network

3917

read before warning you that things are moving slowly and

3918

possibly giving you the option to break the connection. The

3919

default is 15 seconds. The minimum is 5 seconds and the maximumn

3920

is 1000 seconds.

3921

_tcp-write-warning-timeout_

3922

Sets the time in seconds that _Alpine_ will wait for a network

3923

write before warning you that things are moving slowly and

3924

possibly giving you the option to break the connection. The

3925

default is 0 which means it is unset. If set to a non-zero

3926

value, the minimum is 5 and the maximum is 1000.

3927

_threading-display-style_

3928

When a folder is sorted by Threads or OrderedSubject, this

3929

option will affect the MESSAGE INDEX display. By default,

3930

_Alpine_ will display the MESSAGE INDEX in the

3931

"show-thread-structure" style if a folder is sorted by Threads

3932

or OrderedSubject. The possible values are:

3933

3934

_none_

3935

Regular index display. The same index line as would be

3936

displayed without threading is used. The only difference

3937

will be in the order of the messages.

3938

3939

_show-thread-structure_

3940

Threaded Subjects will be indented and vertical bars and

3941

horizontal lines will be added to make it easier to see

3942

the relationships among the messages in a thread (a

3943

conversation).

3944

3945

_mutt-like_

3946

This is the same as the option above except that the

3947

Subject is suppressed (is blank) if it matches the

3948

previous Subject in the thread. The name comes from the

3949

email client Mutt. Here is an example of what a mutt-like

3950

index might look like. In this example, the first column

3951

represents the message number, the threading-index-style

3952

is set to "regular-index-with-expanded-threads", and the

3953

Threading-Lastreply-Character is set to a backslash:

3954

3955

1 Some topic

3956

2 . Subject original message in thread

3957

3 |-> reply to 2

3958

4 . |-> another reply to 2

3959

5 . | \-> reply to 4

3960

6 . | \-> reply to 5

3961

7 | \-> reply to 6

3962

8 |-> another reply to 2

3963

9 . |->New subject another reply to 2 but with a New subject

3964

10 | |-> reply to 9

3965

11 | \-> another reply to 9

3966

12 | \-> reply to 11

3967

13 \-> final reply to 2

3968

14 Next topic

3969

3970

_indent-subject-1_

3971

Threaded Subjects will be indented one space per level of

3972

the conversation. The bars and lines that show up in the

3973

show-thread-structure display will not be there with this

3974

style.

3975

3976

_indent-subject-2_

3977

Same as above but indent two spaces per level instead of

3978

one space.

3979

3980

_indent-from-1_

3981

Similar to indent-subject-1, except that instead of

3982

indenting the Subject field one space the From field of a

3983

thread will be indented one space per level of the

3984

conversation.

3985

3986

_indent-from-2_

3987

Same as above but indent two spaces per level instead of

3988

one space.

3989

3990

_show-structure-in-from_

3991

The structure of the thread is illustrated with indenting,

3992

vertical bars, and horizontal lines just like with the

3993

show-thread-structure option, but the From field is used

3994

to show the relationships instead of the Subject field.

3995

3996

_threading-expanded-character_

3997

The Threading-Expanded-Character option has a small effect on

3998

the MESSAGE INDEX display when using a threading-display-style

3999

other than _none_. The value of this option is a single

4000

character. This character is used to indicate that part of a

4001

thread has been expanded and could be collapsed if desired with

4002

the "/" Collapse/Expand command. By default, the value of this

4003

option is a dot (.).

4004

If this option is set to the Empty Value, then the column (and

4005

the following blank column) will be deleted from the display.

4006

This option is closely related to the

4007

threading-indicator-character option. Another similar option

4008

which affects the thread display is the

4009

threading-lastreply-character option.

4010

_threading-index-style_

4011

When a folder is sorted by Threads or OrderedSubject, this

4012

option will affect the INDEX displays. The possible values are:

4013

4014

_regular-index-with-expanded-threads_

4015

This is the default display. If the configuration option

4016

threading-display-style is set to something other than

4017

"none", then this setting will cause _Alpine_ to start off

4018

with a MESSAGE INDEX with all of the threads expanded.

4019

That is, each message will have a line in the MESSAGE

4020

INDEX display. The Collapse/Expand command (/) may be used

4021

to manually collapse or expand a thread or subthread (see

4022

also slash-collapses-entire-thread).

4023

4024

This setting affects the display when the folder is first

4025

threaded. The collapsed state may also be re-initialized

4026

by re-sorting the folder manually using the SortIndex

4027

command ($). After re-sorting the threads will once again

4028

all be expanded, even if you have previously collapsed

4029

some of them.

4030

4031

If "threading-display-style" is set to "none", then the

4032

display will be the regular default _Alpine_ MESSAGE

4033

INDEX, but sorted in a different order.

4034

4035

_regular-index-with-collapsed-threads_

4036

If the configuration option threading-display-style is set

4037

to something other than "none", then this setting will

4038

cause _Alpine_ to start out with all of the threads

4039

collapsed instead of starting out with all of the threads

4040

expanded. The Collapse/Expand command (/) may be used to

4041

manually collapse or expand a thread or subthread (see

4042

also slash-collapses-entire-thread).

4043

4044

This setting affects the display when the folder is first

4045

threaded. The collapsed state may also be re-initialized

4046

by re-sorting the folder manually using the SortIndex

4047

command ($). After re-sorting the threads will once again

4048

all be collapsed, even if you have previously expanded

4049

some of them.

4050

4051

_separate-index-screen-always_

4052

With this setting and the next, you will see an index of

4053

threads instead of an index of messages, provided you have

4054

sorted by Threads or OrderedSubject.

4055

4056

The THREAD INDEX contains a '*' in the first column if any

4057

message in the thread is marked Important. If not, it

4058

contains a '+' if any message in the thread is to you. The

4059

second column is blank. The third column contains a 'D' if

4060

all of the messages in the thread are deleted. Otherwise,

4061

it contains an 'N' if any of the messages in the thread

4062

are New.

4063

4064

When you view a particular thread from the THREAD INDEX

4065

you will be in the MESSAGE INDEX display but the index

4066

will only contain messages from the thread you are

4067

viewing.

4068

4069

_separate-index-screen-except-for-single-messages_

4070

This is very similar to the option above. When you are in

4071

the THREAD INDEX, one of the available commands is

4072

"ViewThd". With the setting "separate-index-screen-always"

4073

(the option above) when you view a particular thread you

4074

will be in the MESSAGE INDEX display and the index will

4075

only contain messages from the thread you are viewing. If

4076

the thread you are viewing consists of a single message,

4077

the MESSAGE INDEX will be an index with only one message

4078

in it. If you use this

4079

"separate-index-screen-except-for-single-messages" setting

4080

instead, then that index which contains a single message

4081

will be skipped and you will go directly from the THREAD

4082

INDEX into the MESSAGE TEXT screen.

4083

4084

_threading-indicator-character_

4085

The Threading-Indicator-Character option has a small effect on

4086

the MESSAGE INDEX display when using a threading-display-style

4087

other than _none_ and sorting by Threads or OrderedSubject. The

4088

value of this option is a single character. This character is

4089

used to indicate that part of a thread (a conversation) is

4090

hidden beneath a message. The message could be expanded if

4091

desired with the "/" Collapse/Expand command. By default, the

4092

value of this option is the greater than sign (>).

4093

If this option is set to the Empty Value, then the column (and

4094

the following blank column) will be deleted from the display.

4095

This option is closely related to the

4096

threading-expanded-character option. Another similar option

4097

which affects the thread display is the

4098

threading-lastreply-character option.

4099

_threading-lastreply-character_

4100

The Threading-Lastreply-Character option has a small effect on

4101

the MESSAGE INDEX display when using a threading-display-style

4102

of _show-thread-structure_, _mutt-like_, or

4103

_show-structure-in-from_; and sorting by Threads or

4104

OrderedSubject. The value of this option is a single character.

4105

This character is used instead of the vertical line character

4106

when there are no more replies directly to the parent of the

4107

current message. It can be used to "round-off" the bottom of the

4108

vertical line by setting it to a character such as a backslash

4109

(\) or a backquote (`). The default value of this option is the

4110

backslash character (\). This option may not be set to the Empty

4111

Value. In that case, the default will be used instead.

4112

This option is displayed as "Threading Last Reply Character".

4113

_title-background-color_

4114

_title-foreground-color_

4115

Title Color.

4116

_title-closed-background-color_

4117

_title-closed-foreground-color_

4118

Title-closed Color.

4119

_titlebar-color-style_

4120

titlebar-color-style.

4121

_unknown-character-set_

4122

A text message should either be made up of all US-ASCII

4123

characters or it should contain a charset label which tells the

4124

software which character set encoding to use to interpret the

4125

message. Sometimes a malformed message may be unlabeled but

4126

contain non-ascii text. This message is outside of the standards

4127

so any attempt to read it could fail. When _Alpine_ attempts to

4128

read such a message it will try to interpret the text in the

4129

character set you specify here. For example, if you have

4130

correspondents who send you unlabeled messages that are usually

4131

made up of characters from the WINDOWS-1251 character set,

4132

setting this unknown-character-set to WINDOWS-1251 will allow

4133

you to read those messages. Of course, if the unlabeled message

4134

is actually in some other character set, then you may see

4135

garbage on your screen.

4136

In the Setup/Config screen you may choose from a list of all the

4137

character sets _Alpine_ knows about by using the "T" ToCharsets

4138

command.

4139

_upload-command_

4140

This option affects the behavior of the Composer's _^R_ (Read

4141

File) and _^J_ (Attach File, in the header) commands. It

4142

specifies a Unix program name, and any necessary command line

4143

arguments, that _Alpine_ can use to transfer files from your

4144

personal computer into messages that you are composing.

4145

_upload-command-prefix_

4146

This option is used in conjunction with the _upload-command_

4147

option. It defines text to be written to the terminal emulator

4148

(via standard output) immediately prior to starting the upload

4149

command. This is useful for integrated serial line file transfer

4150

agents that permit command passing (e.g., Kermit's APC method).

4151

_url-viewers_

4152

List of programs to use to open Internet URLs. This value

4153

affects _Alpine_'s handling of URLs that are found in the text

4154

of messages you read. Normally, only URLs _Alpine_ can handle

4155

directly are automatically offered for selection in the "Message

4156

Text" screen. When one or more comma delimited Web browsers

4157

capable of deciphering URLs on their command line are added

4158

here, _Alpine_ will choose the first available browser to

4159

display URLs it doesn't recognize.

4160

Additionally, to support various connection methods and

4161

browsers, each entry in this list can begin with the special

4162

token _TEST(test-string)_. The test-string is a shell command

4163

that _Alpine_ will run and which must exit with a status of zero

4164

for _Alpine_ to consider that browser for use (the other

4165

criteria is that the browser must exist as a full path or a path

4166

relative to your home directory).

4167

Now for an example:

4168

4169

url-viewers=_TEST("test -n '${DISPLAY}'")_ /usr/local/bin/netscape,

4170

/usr/local/bin/lynx, C:\BIN\NETSCAPE.BAT

4171

This example shows that for the first browser in the list to be

4172

used the environment variable DISPLAY must be defined. If it is,

4173

then the file /usr/local/bin/netscape must exist. If either

4174

condition is not met, then the file /usr/local/bin/lynx must

4175

exist. If it doesn't, then the final path and file must exist.

4176

Note that the last entry is a DOS/Windows path. This is one way

4177

to support _Alpine_ running on more than one architecture with

4178

the same configuration file.

4179

_use-only-domain-name_

4180

Can be set to _yes_ or _no._ Anything but _yes_ means _no._ If

4181

set to _yes_ the first label in the host name will be lopped off

4182

to get the domain name and the domain name will be used for

4183

outgoing mail and such. That is, if the host name is

4184

_carson.u.example.edu_ and this variable is set to _yes,_ then

4185

_u.example.edu_ will be used on outgoing mail. Only meaningful if

4186

user-domain is NOT set.

4187

_user-domain_

4188

Sets the domain or host name for the user, overriding the system

4189

host or domain name. See the domain name section. The easiest

4190

way to change the full From address is with the customized-hdrs

4191

variable.

4192

_user-id_

4193

_PC-Alpine_ only and personal configuration file only. Sets the

4194

username that is placed on all outgoing messages. The username

4195

is the part of the address that comes before the "@". The

4196

easiest way to change the full From address is with the

4197

customized-hdrs variable.

4198

_user-input-timeout_

4199

If this is set to an integer greater than zero, then this is the

4200

number of _hours_ to wait for user input before _Alpine_ times

4201

out. If _Alpine_ is in the midst of composing a message or is

4202

waiting for user response to a question, then it will not

4203

timeout. However, if _Alpine_ is sitting idle waiting for the

4204

user to tell it what to do next and the user does not give any

4205

input for this many hours, _Alpine_ will exit. No expunging or

4206

moving of read messages will take place. It will exit similarly

4207

to the way it would exit if it received a hangup signal. This

4208

may be useful for cleaning up unused _Alpine_ sessions which

4209

have been forgotten by their owners. The _Alpine_ developers

4210

envision system administrators setting this to a value of

4211

several hours (24?) so that it won't surprise a user who didn't

4212

want to be disconnected.

4213

_viewer-hdr-colors_

4214

This variable holds the optional Header Colors and patterns

4215

which have been defined by the user. This is usually modified by

4216

using the Header Colors section of the Setup Color screen.

4217

_viewer-hdrs_

4218

You may change the default list of headers that are viewed by

4219

listing the headers you want to view here. If the headers in

4220

your _viewer-hdrs_ list are present in the message, then they

4221

will be shown. The order of the headers you list will also be

4222

honored. If the special value _all-except_ is included as the

4223

first header in the _viewer-hdrs_ list, then all headers in the

4224

message except those in the list will be shown. The values are

4225

all case insensitive.

4226

This option is displayed as "Viewer Headers".

4227

_viewer-margin-left_

4228

This variable controls the left-hand vertical margin's width in

4229

_Alpine_'s Message Viewing screen. Its value is the number of

4230

space characters preceding each displayed line. For consistency

4231

with Viewer-Margin-Right, you may specify the column number to

4232

start in (column numbering begins with number 1) instead of the

4233

width of the margin by appending a lower case letter "c" to the

4234

number. For example, a value of "2c" means to start the text in

4235

column two, which is entirely equivalent to a value of "1",

4236

which means to leave a margin of 1 space.

4237

The default is a left margin of 0 (zero). Misconfigurations (for

4238

example, negative values or values with starting left columns

4239

greater than the ending right column) are silently ignored. If

4240

the number of columns for text between the Viewer-Margin-Left

4241

and the Viewer-Margin-Right is fewer than 8, then margins of

4242

zero will be used instead.

4243

_viewer-margin-right_

4244

This variable controls the right-hand vertical margin's width in

4245

_Alpine_'s Message Viewing screen. Its value is the number of

4246

space characters following each displayed line. You may specify

4247

the column number to end the text in (column numbering begins

4248

with number 1) instead of the width of the margin by appending a

4249

lower case letter "c" to the number. For example, a value of

4250

"76c" means to end the text in column 76. If the screen is 80

4251

characters wide, this is equivalent to a value of "4", which

4252

means to leave a margin of 4 spaces. However, if you use

4253

different size screens at different times, then these two values

4254

are not equivalent.

4255

The default right margin is 4. Misconfigurations (for example,

4256

negative values or values with starting left columns greater

4257

than the ending right column) are silently ignored. If the

4258

number of columns for text between the Viewer-Margin-Left and

4259

the Viewer-Margin-Right is fewer than 8, then margins of zero

4260

will be used instead.

4261

_viewer-overlap_

4262

This option specifies an aspect of _Alpine_'s Message Viewing

4263

screen. When the space bar is used to page forward in a message,

4264

the number of lines specified by the _viewer-overlap_ variable

4265

will be repeated from the bottom of the screen. That is, if this

4266

was set to two lines, then the bottom two lines of the screen

4267

would be repeated on the top of the next screen. The normal

4268

default value is "2".

4269

_window-position_

4270

Winsock version of _PC-Alpine_ only. Window position in the

4271

format: CxR+X+Yn Where C and R are the window size in characters

4272

and X and Y are the screen position of the top left corner of

4273

the window.

4274

__________________________________________________________________

4275

4276

Configuration Features

4277

4278

There are several features (options) which may be turned off or on. The

4279

configuration variable feature-list is a list of all the features that

4280

are turned on or off. If the name of a feature is in the list it will

4281

be turned on. If the name of a feature with the characters no-

4282

prepended is in the list, it will turn the feature off. This is useful

4283

for overriding system-wide defaults. This is because, unlike all the

4284

other configuration variables, the _feature-list_ is additive. That is,

4285

first the system-wide _feature-list_ is read and then the user's

4286

_feature-list_ is read. This makes it possible for the system manager to

4287

turn some of the features on by default while still allowing the user

4288

to cancel that default. For example, if the system manager has turned

4289

on the _allow-talk_ feature by default then a user may turn it back off

4290

by including the feature _no-allow-talk_ in his or her personal

4291

configuration file. Of course, these details are usually handled by

4292

_Alpine_ when the user turns an option on or off from inside the

4293

_Setup/Config_ screen.

4294

4295

System managers should take some care when turning on features by

4296

default. Some of the documentation assumes that all of the features are

4297

off by default, so it could be confusing for a user if some are on by

4298

default instead. Feature names are case-independent.

4299

4300

Here is an alphabetical list of possible features.

4301

_allow-changing-from_

4302

Prior to _Pine_ 4.00 there was a _compile_-time option called

4303

ALLOW_CHANGING_FROM. That has been replaced by a _runtime_

4304

feature. If this feature is turned on then the From line can be

4305

changed just like all the other header fields that can be

4306

changed. See the configuration variables customized-hdrs and

4307

default-composer-hdrs for more information on editing headers.

4308

The default value for this feature is ON, so that editing of

4309

From headers is allowed by default.

4310

_allow-talk_

4311

Unix _Alpine_ only. By default, permission for others to _talk_

4312

to your terminal is turned off when you are running _Alpine_.

4313

When this feature is set, permission is instead turned on.

4314

Note: The _talk_ program has nothing to do with _Alpine_ or

4315

email. The _talk_ daemon on your system will attempt to print a

4316

message on your screen when someone else is trying to contact

4317

you. If you wish to see these messages while you are running

4318

_Alpine_, you should enable this feature.

4319

If you do enable this feature and see a _talk_ message, you must

4320

suspend or quit _Alpine_ before you can respond.

4321

_alternate-compose-menu_

4322

This feature controls the menu that is displayed when Compose is

4323

selected. If set, a list of options will be presented, with each

4324

option representing the type of composition that could be used.

4325

This feature is most useful for users who want to avoid being

4326

prompted with each option separately, or who want to avoid the

4327

checking of remote postponed or form letter folders. The

4328

possible types of composition are:

4329

New, for starting a new composition. Note that if New is

4330

selected and roles are set, roles are checked for matches and

4331

applied according to the setting of the matching role.

4332

Interrupted, for continuing an interrupted composition. This

4333

option is only offered if an interrupted message folder is

4334

detected.

4335

Postponed, for continuing postponed compositions. This option is

4336

offered if a postponed-folder is set in the config _REGARDLESS

4337

OF_ whether or not the postponed folder actually exists. This

4338

option is especially handy for avoiding having to check for the

4339

existence of a remote postponed folder.

4340

Form, for using form letters. This option is offered if the

4341

form-letter-folder is set in the config, and is not checked for

4342

existence for reasons similar to those explained by the

4343

postponed option.

4344

setRole, for selecting a role to apply to a composition.

4345

_alternate-role-menu_

4346

Normally the Role Command allows you to choose a role and

4347

compose a new message using that role. When this feature is set,

4348

the role command will first ask whether you want to Compose a

4349

new message, Forward the current message, Reply to the current

4350

message, or Bounce the current message. If you are not in the

4351

MESSAGE INDEX and are not viewing a message, then there is no

4352

current message and the question will be skipped. After you have

4353

chosen to Compose, Forward, Reply or Bounce you will then choose

4354

the role to be used.

4355

When Bouncing the "Set From" address is used for the Resent-From

4356

header, the "Set Fcc" value is used for the Fcc provided that

4357

the option "Fcc-On-Bounce" is turned on, and the "Use SMTP

4358

Server" value is used for the SMTP server, if set. Other actions

4359

of the role are ignored when Bouncing.

4360

This feature is displayed as "Alternate Role (#) Menu".

4361

_assume-slow-link_

4362

UNIX _Alpine_ only.

4363

This feature affects _Alpine_'s display routines. If set, the

4364

normal inverse-video cursor (used to highlight the current item

4365

in a list) will be replaced by an _arrow_ cursor and other

4366

screen update optimizations for low-speed links (e.g. 2400 bps

4367

dialup connections) will be activated. One of the optimizations

4368

is that colored index lines (set up with Indexcolor Rules) will

4369

not be colored. This might be useful if _you_ know you have a

4370

slow speed link but for some reason _Alpine_ doesn't know.

4371

_auto-move-read-msgs_

4372

This feature controls an aspect of _Alpine_'s behavior upon

4373

quitting. If set, and the read-message-folder variable is also

4374

set, then _Alpine_ will automatically transfer all read messages

4375

from the _INBOX_ to the designated folder and mark them as

4376

deleted in the _INBOX_. Messages in the _INBOX_ marked with an

4377

_N_ (meaning New, or unseen) are not affected.

4378

This feature is displayed as "Auto Move Read Messages".

4379

_auto-open-next-unread_

4380

This feature controls the behavior of the TAB key when

4381

traversing folders in the optional incoming-folders collection

4382

or in optional news-collections.

4383

When the TAB (Next New) key is pressed, and there are no more

4384

unseen messages in the current (incoming message or news)

4385

folder, _Alpine_ will search the list of folders in the current

4386

collection for one containing New or Recent (new since the last

4387

time the folder was opened) messages. This behavior may be

4388

modified slightly with the Tab-Uses-Unseen-For-Next-Folder

4389

feature which causes _Alpine_ to look for Unseen messages

4390

instead of Recent messages. By default, when such a folder is

4391

found, _Alpine_ will ask whether you wish to open the folder. If

4392

this feature is set, _Alpine_ will automatically open the folder

4393

without prompting.

4394

_auto-unselect-after-apply_

4395

This feature affects the behavior of the Apply command. If set,

4396

the Apply command will do the operation you specify, but then

4397

will implicitly do an "UnSelect All", so that you will

4398

automatically be back in the normal Index view after the Apply.

4399

_auto-unzoom-after-apply_

4400

If set, and if you are currently looking at a Zoomed Index view

4401

of selected messages, the _Apply_ command will do the operation

4402

you specify, but then will implicitly do an _UnZoom_, so that

4403

you will automatically be back in the normal Index view after

4404

the _Apply_. This feature is set by default.

4405

_auto-zoom-after-select_

4406

If set, the _; select_ command will automatically perform a

4407

_Zoom_ after the _select_ is complete. This feature is set by

4408

default.

4409

_busy-cue-spinner-only_

4410

When _Alpine_ is delayed for some reason it usually shows that

4411

something is happening with a small animated display in the

4412

status message line near the bottom of the screen. Setting this

4413

feature will cause that animation to be the same each time

4414

instead of having _Alpine_ choose a random animation. You may

4415

turn the animation off altogether by setting the busy-cue-rate

4416

option to zero.

4417

_check-newmail-when-quitting_

4418

If set, _Alpine_ will check for new mail after you give the Quit

4419

command. If new mail has arrived since the previous check, you

4420

will be notified and given the choice of quitting or not

4421

quitting.

4422

_combined-addrbook-display_

4423

This feature affects the address book display screens. Normally,

4424

expanding an address book from the ADDRESS BOOK LIST screen will

4425

cause the remaining address books and directory servers to

4426

disappear from the screen, leaving only the entries of the

4427

expanded address book. If this feature is set, then the other

4428

address books will remain on the screen, so that all of the

4429

address books can be present at once.

4430

The way that commands work won't be changed. For example, the

4431

Select All command will select all of the entries in the current

4432

address book, not all of the entries in all of the address

4433

books. The WhereIs command will change a little. It will search

4434

through all of the text on the screen plus all of the entries

4435

from expanded address books.

4436

When this feature is set, the setting of the feature

4437

expanded-view-of-addressbooks has an effect.

4438

This feature is displayed as "Combined Addressbook Display".

4439

_combined-folder-display_

4440

This feature affects the folder list display screens. Normally,

4441

each folder list is viewed within its collection only. This

4442

command allows folder lists to be viewed within a single screen

4443

that combines the contents of all collections.

4444

The way that commands work won't be changed. For example, the

4445

Select All command will select all of the folders in the current

4446

collection, not all of the entries in all of the collections.

4447

The WhereIs command will change a little. It will search through

4448

all of the folders in the current collection as well as all the

4449

folder in any other expanded collection.

4450

When this feature is set, the setting of the feature

4451

expanded-view-of-folders has an effect.

4452

_combined-subdirectory-display_

4453

This feature affects the Folder List screen when the

4454

combined-folder-display feature is enabled. Normally, selecting

4455

a directory from the Folder List takes you into a new screen

4456

displaying only the contents of that directory.

4457

Enabling this feature will cause the contents of the selected

4458

directory to be displayed within the boundaries of the

4459

Collection it is a part of. All previously displayed collections

4460

will remain in the screen.

4461

The way that commands work won't be changed. For example, the

4462

Select All command will select all of the folders in the

4463

directory, as opposed to all of the entries in all of the

4464

collections. The WhereIs command will change a little. It will

4465

search through all of the folders in the current collection as

4466

well as all the folder in any other expanded collection.

4467

_compose-cancel-confirm-uses-yes_

4468

This feature affects what happens when you type ^C to cancel a

4469

composition. By default, if you attempt to cancel a composition

4470

by typing ^C, you will be asked to confirm the cancellation by

4471

typing a "C" for _C_onfirm. It logically ought to be a "Y" for

4472

_Y_es, but that is risky because the "^C Y" needed to cancel a

4473

message is close (on the keyboard) to the "^X Y" needed to send

4474

a message.

4475

If this feature is set the confirmation asked for will be a

4476

"_Y_es" instead of a "_C_onfirm" response.

4477

_compose-cut-from-cursor_

4478

If set, the _^K_ command in the composer will cut from the

4479

current cursor position to the end of the line, rather than

4480

cutting the entire line.

4481

This feature is displayed as "Ctrl-K Cuts From Cursor".

4482

_compose-maps-delete-key-to-ctrl-d_

4483

If set, Delete will be equivalent to ^D, and delete the current

4484

character. Normally _Alpine_ defines the Delete key to be

4485

equivalent to ^H, which deletes the _previous_ character.

4486

This feature is displayed as "Delete Key Maps to Ctrl-D".

4487

_compose-rejects-unqualified-addrs_

4488

If set, unqualified names entered as addresses will be treated

4489

as errors unless they match an addressbook nickname or are

4490

looked up successfully on an LDAP server. _Alpine_ will not

4491

attempt to turn them into complete addresses by adding your

4492

local domain (which _Alpine_ normally does by default).

4493

A complete (fully-qualified) address is one containing a

4494

username followed by an _@_ symbol, followed by a host or domain

4495

name (e.g. _jsmith@example.com_). An unqualified name is one

4496

without the _@_ symbol and host or domain name (e.g. _jsmith_).

4497

This feature is displayed as "Compose Rejects Unqualified

4498

Addresses".

4499

_compose-send-offers-first-filter_

4500

If you have sending-filters configured, setting this feature

4501

will cause the first filter in the _sending-filters_ list to be

4502

offered as the default instead of _unfiltered_, the usual

4503

default.

4504

_compose-sets-newsgroup-without-confirm_

4505

If you enter the composer while reading a newsgroup, you will

4506

normally be prompted to determine whether you intend the new

4507

message to be posted to the current newsgroup or not. If this

4508

feature is set, _Alpine_ will not prompt you in this situation,

4509

and will assume that you do indeed wish to post to the newsgroup

4510

you are reading.

4511

This feature is displayed as "Compose Sets Newsgroup Without

4512

Confirming".

4513

_confirm-role-even-for-default_

4514

If you have roles, when you Reply to or Forward a message, or

4515

Compose a new message, _Alpine_ will search through your roles

4516

for one which matches. Normally, if no matches are found you

4517

will be placed into the composer with no opportunity to select a

4518

role. If this feature is set, then you will be asked to confirm

4519

that you don't want a role. This will give you the opportunity

4520

to select a role (with the ^T command). If you confirm no role

4521

with a Return, you will be placed in the composer with no role.

4522

You may also confirm with either an "N" or a "Y". These behave

4523

the same as if you pressed the Return. (The "N" and "Y" answers

4524

are available because they match what you might type if there

4525

was a role match.)

4526

If you are using the alternate form of the Compose command

4527

called "Role", then all of your roles will be available to you,

4528

independent of the value of this feauture and of the values set

4529

for all of Reply Use, Forward Use, and Compose Use.

4530

_continue-tab-without-confirm_

4531

Normally, when you use the TAB NextNew command and there is a

4532

problem checking a folder, you are asked whether you want to

4533

continue with the search in the following folder or not. This

4534

gives you a chance to stop the NextNew processing.

4535

If this feature is set you will not be asked. It will be assumed

4536

that you want to continue.

4537

This feature is displayed as "Continue NextNew Without

4538

Confirming".

4539

_convert-dates-to-localtime_

4540

Normally, the message dates that you see in the MESSAGE INDEX

4541

and MESSAGE VIEW are displayed in the timezone they were sent

4542

from. For example, if a message was sent to you from a few

4543

timezones to the east it might appear that it was sent from the

4544

future; or if it was sent from somewhere to the west it might

4545

appear as if it is from yesterday even though it was sent only a

4546

few minutes ago. If this feature is set an attempt will be made

4547

to convert the dates to your local timezone to be displayed.

4548

Note that this does not affect the results of Select by Date or

4549

of anything else other than these displayed dates. When viewing

4550

the message you may look at the original unconverted value of

4551

the Date header by using the HdrMode Command.

4552

_copy-to-address-to-from-if-it-is-us_

4553

This feature affects the From address used when Replying to a

4554

message. It is probably only useful if you have some

4555

alt-addresses defined. When enabled, it checks to see if any of

4556

the addresses in the To or Cc fields of the message you are

4557

replying to is one of your addresses. If it is, and there is

4558

only one of them, then that address is used as the From address

4559

in the message you are composing. In other words, you will be

4560

using a From address that is the same as the To address that was

4561

used to get the mail to you in the first place.

4562

If a role is being used and it has a From address defined, that

4563

From address will be used rather than the one derived from this

4564

feature.

4565

_delete-skips-deleted_

4566

If set, this feature will cause the _Delete_ command to advance

4567

past other messages that are marked deleted. In other words,

4568

pressing _D_ will both mark the current message deleted and

4569

advance to the next message that is not marked deleted. This

4570

feature is set by default.

4571

_disable-config-cmd_

4572

If set, the configuration screen _Setup/Config_ will not be

4573

available at all.

4574

_disable-save-input-history_

4575

Many of the prompts that ask for input in the status line near

4576

the bottom of the screen will respond to Up Arrow and Down Arrow

4577

with the history of previous entries. For example, in the

4578

MESSAGE INDEX screen when you use the WhereIs command the text

4579

you entered will be remembered and can be recalled by using the

4580

Up Arrow key. Another example, when saving a message the folders

4581

saved to will be remembered and can be recalled using the arrow

4582

keys.

4583

In the Save prompt, some users prefer that the Up and Down arrow

4584

keys be used for the Previous Collection and Next Collection

4585

commands instead of for a history of previous saves. If this

4586

option is set the Up and Down arrow keys will become synonyms

4587

for the Previous Collection and Next Collection (^P and ^N)

4588

commands in the prompt for the name of a folder to Save to or in

4589

the prompt for the name of a folder to GoTo. When this feature

4590

is not set (the default), ^P and ^N will change the collection

4591

and the arrow keys will show the history.

4592

_disable-keyboard-lock-cmd_

4593

In the Main _Alpine_ menu there is a Keyboard locking command

4594

(_KBLock_). If this feature is set, that command won't be

4595

available to the user.

4596

_disable-keymenu_

4597

If set, the command key menu that normally appears on the bottom

4598

two lines of the screen will not usually be there. Asking for

4599

help with _^G_ or _?_ will cause the key menu to appear instead

4600

of causing the help message to come up. If you want to actually

4601

see the help text, another _^G_ or _?_ will show it to you.

4602

After the key menu has popped up with the help key it will

4603

remain there for an _O Other_ command but will disappear if any

4604

other command is typed.

4605

_disable-password-caching_

4606

Normally, loginname/password combinations are cached in _Alpine_

4607

so that the user does not have to enter the same password more

4608

than once in a session. A disadvantage to this approach is that

4609

the password must be stored in the memory image of the running

4610

_Alpine_ in order that it can be reused. In the event that

4611

_Alpine_ crashes and produces a core dump, and that core dump is

4612

readable by others, the loginname and password could possibly be

4613

read from the core dump.

4614

If this feature is set, then the passwords will not be cached

4615

and the user will have to retype the password whenever _Alpine_

4616

needs it. Even with this feature set there is still some chance

4617

that the core file will contain a password, so care should be

4618

taken to make the core files unreadable.

4619

NOTE: If PASSFILE caching is enabled, this does not disable it.

4620

That is a separate and independent feature.

4621

_disable-password-cmd_

4622

If set the _Newpassword_ command usually available under the

4623

_Setup_ command will not be available.

4624

_disable-pipes-in-sigs_

4625

If set it will be an error to append a vertical bar (|) to the

4626

name of a signature file. Appending a vertical bar normally

4627

causes the signature file to be executed to produce the

4628

signature.

4629

_disable-pipes-in-templates_

4630

If set it will be an error to append a vertical bar (|) to the

4631

name of a template file. Appending a vertical bar normally

4632

causes the signature file to be executed to produce the

4633

signature.

4634

_disable-regular-expression-matching-for-alternate-addresses_

4635

Normally, the alt-addresses option is interpreted as a regular

4636

expression. One type of address that might cause trouble is an

4637

address that contains a plus sign. If you want to have an

4638

address with a plus as one of your alternate addresses and you

4639

don't want to use regular expressions, then setting this feature

4640

will cause _Alpine_ to treat the addresses you list literally

4641

instead.

4642

_disable-roles-setup-cmd_

4643

If set the _Roles_ command usually available under the _Setup_

4644

command will not be available.

4645

_disable-roles-sig-edit_

4646

If set the roles editor in the _Setup/Roles_ command will not

4647

allow editing of signature files with the F subcommand.

4648

_disable-roles-template-edit_

4649

If set the roles editor in the _Setup/Roles_ command will not

4650

allow editing of template files with the F subcommand.

4651

_disable-sender_

4652

If set, _Alpine_ will not generate a "Sender:" or "X-X-Sender"

4653

header. This may be desirable on a system which is virtually

4654

hosting many domains, and the sysadmin has other methods

4655

available for tracking a message to its originator.

4656

This feature is displayed as "Do Not Generate Sender Header".

4657

_disable-setlocale-collate_

4658

This is a hard to understand feature that should only be used in

4659

rare cases. Normally, the C function call

4660

4661

setlocale(LC_COLLATE, "")

4662

is used by _Alpine_. If you want to try turning it off, setting

4663

this feature will turn it off. This part of the locale has to do

4664

with the sort order of characters in your locale.

4665

_disable-shared-namespaces_

4666

If this hidden feature is set the automatic search for

4667

namespaces "ftp", "imapshared", and "imappublic" by the

4668

underlying library will be disabled. The reason this feature

4669

exists is because there are some implementations of system

4670

password lookup routines which are very slow when presented with

4671

a long loginname which does not exist. This feature could be set

4672

to prevent the delay at startup time when the names above are

4673

searched for in the password file.

4674

_disable-signature-edit-cmd_

4675

If set the _Signature_ editing command usually available under

4676

the _Setup_ command will not be available.

4677

_disable-take-fullname-in-addresses_

4678

Normally, when TakeAddr is used to copy an address or addresses

4679

from a message into an address book entry, _Alpine_ will try to

4680

preserve the full name associated with each address in the list

4681

of addresses. The reason for this is so that if the entry is a

4682

list or later becomes a list, then information about the

4683

individual addresses in the list is preserved. If you would

4684

rather just have the simple addresses in the list of addresses,

4685

set this feature. For example, with the default setting you

4686

might see something like this in the ADDRESS BOOK editor after

4687

you type TakeAddr

4688

Nickname : nick

4689

Fullname : Bedrock Elders

4690

Fcc :

4691

Comment :

4692

Addresses : Fred Flintstone <flint@bedrock.org>,

4693

Barney Rubble <rubble@bedrock.org>

4694

4695

but with this feature set it would look like

4696

Nickname : nick

4697

Fullname : Bedrock Elders

4698

Fcc :

4699

Comment :

4700

Addresses : flint@bedrock.org,

4701

rubble@bedrock.org

4702

4703

instead. Note the difference in the Addresses field.

4704

_disable-take-last-comma-first_

4705

Normally, when _TakeAddr_ is used to copy an address from a

4706

message into an address book, _Alpine_ will attempt to rewrite

4707

the full name of the address in the form:

4708

4709

Last, First

4710

instead of

4711

4712

First Last

4713

It does this because many people find it useful to sort by Last

4714

name instead of First name. If this feature is set, then the

4715

_TakeAddr_ command will not attempt to reverse the name in this

4716

manner.

4717

_disable-terminal-reset-for-display-filters_

4718

UNIX _Alpine_ only.

4719

This feature affects _Alpine_'s behavior when using

4720

Display-Filters. Normally, before the display filter is run, the

4721

terminal mode is reset to what it was before you started

4722

_Alpine_. This may be necessary if the filter requires the use of

4723

the terminal. For example, it may need to interact with you. If

4724

you set this feature, then the terminal mode will not be reset.

4725

One thing that turning on this feature should fix is the

4726

coloring of quoted text in the message view, which breaks

4727

because the terminal reset resets the color state of the

4728

terminal (Color Configuration).

4729

_downgrade-multipart-to-text_

4730

This feature affects _Alpine_'s behavior when sending mail.

4731

Internet standards require _Alpine_ to translate all non-ASCII

4732

characters in messages that it sends using MIME encoding. This

4733

encoding can be ostensibly broken for recipients if any agent

4734

between _Alpine_ and the recipient, such as an email list

4735

expander, appends text to the message, such as list information

4736

or advertising. When sending such messages _Alpine_ attempts to

4737

protect such encoding by placing extra MIME boundaries around

4738

the message text.

4739

These extra boundaries are invisible to recipients that use

4740

MIME-aware email programs (the vast majority). However, if you

4741

correspond with users of email programs that are not MIME-aware,

4742

or do not handle the extra boundaries gracefully, you can use

4743

this feature to prevent _Alpine_ from including the extra MIME

4744

information. Of course, it will increase the likelihood that

4745

non-ASCII text you send may appear corrupt to the recipient.

4746

_enable-8bit-esmtp-negotiation_

4747

This feature affects _Alpine_'s behavior when sending mail. By

4748

default, this feature is set. Internet standards require that

4749

all electronic mail messages traversing the global Internet

4750

consist of 7bit ASCII characters unless a pair of cooperating

4751

mail transfer agents explicitly agree to allow 8bit messages. In

4752

general, then, exchanging messages in non-ASCII characters

4753

requires MIME encoding.

4754

However, there are now Internet standards that allow for

4755

unencoded 8bit exchange of messages between cooperating systems.

4756

When this feature is set _Alpine_ will try to negotiate

4757

unencoded 8bit transmission during the sending process. Should

4758

the negotiation fail, _Alpine_ will fall back to its ordinary

4759

encoding rules.

4760

Note, this feature relies on your system's mail transport agent

4761

or configured smtp-server having the negotiation mechanism

4762

introduced in "Extended SMTP" (ESMTP) and the specific extension

4763

called _8BITMIME_.

4764

_enable-8bit-nntp-posting_

4765

The Internet standard for exchanging USENET news messages

4766

(RFC-1036) specifies that USENET messages should conform to

4767

Internet mail standards and contain only 7bit characters, but

4768

much of the news transport software in use today is capable of

4769

successfully sending messages containing 8bit characters. Hence,

4770

many people believe that it is appropriate to send 8bit news

4771

messages without any MIME encoding.

4772

Moreover, there is no Internet standard for explicitly

4773

negotiating 8bit transfer, as there is for Internet email.

4774

Therefore, _Alpine_ provides the option of posting unencoded

4775

8bit news messages, though not as the default. Setting this

4776

feature will turn OFF _Alpine_'s MIME encoding of newsgroup

4777

postings that contain 8bit characters.

4778

Note, articles may cross a path or pass through news transport

4779

software that is unsafe or even hostile to 8bit characters. At

4780

best this will only cause the posting to become garbled. The

4781

safest way to transmit 8bit characters is to leave _Alpine_'s

4782

MIME encoding turned on, but recipients who lack MIME-aware

4783

tools are often annoyed when they receive MIME-encoded messages.

4784

_enable-aggregate-command-set_

4785

When this feature is set you may use the commands and

4786

subcommands that relate to performing operations on more than

4787

one message at a time. We call these "aggregate operations". In

4788

particular, the _; Select_, _A Apply_, and _Z Zoom_ commands are

4789

enabled by this feature. _Select_ is used to _tag_ one or more

4790

messages meeting the specified criteria. _Apply_ can then be

4791

used to apply any message command to all of the selected/tagged

4792

messages. Further, the _Zoom_ command allows you to toggle the

4793

"Folder Index" view between just those Selected and all messages

4794

in the folder.

4795

This feature also enables the _^X_ subcommand in the "Folder

4796

Index" _WhereIs_ command which causes all messages matching the

4797

_WhereIs_ argument to become selected.

4798

You may also use aggregate operations in the address book

4799

screens where you are operating on address book entries instead

4800

of on messages.

4801

_enable-alternate-editor-cmd_

4802

If this feature is set (the default), and the editor variable is

4803

not set, entering the _^__ (Control-underscore) key while

4804

composing a message will prompt you for the name of the editor

4805

you would like to use.

4806

If the environment variable $EDITOR is set, this value will be

4807

offered as a default. If the _editor_ variable is set, the _^__

4808

key will activate the specified editor without prompting, in

4809

which case it is not necessary to set the

4810

_enable-alternate-editor-cmd_ feature. This feature is not

4811

available in _PC-Alpine_.

4812

This feature is displayed as "Enable Alternate Editor Command".

4813

_enable-alternate-editor-implicitly_

4814

If this feature and the editor variable are both set, _Alpine_

4815

will automatically activate the specified editor when the cursor

4816

is moved from the header of the message being composed into the

4817

message text. For replies, the alternate editor will be

4818

activated immediately. If this feature is set but the _editor_

4819

variable is not set, then _Alpine_ will automatically ask for

4820

the name of an alternate editor when the cursor is moved out of

4821

the headers, or if a reply is being done. This feature is not

4822

available in _PC-Alpine_.

4823

_enable-arrow-navigation_

4824

This feature controls the behavior of the left and right arrow

4825

keys. If set, the left and right arrow keys will operate like

4826

the usual navigation keys _<_ and _>_. This feature is set by

4827

default.

4828

If you set this feature, and do not like the changed behavior of

4829

the up/down arrow keys when navigating through the FOLDER LIST

4830

screen -- _first_ from column to column, if more than one folder

4831

is displayed per row, and _then_ from row to row -- you may

4832

either also wish to set the feature

4833

enable-arrow-navigation-relaxed, single-column-folder-list, or

4834

use the ^P/^N (instead of up/down arrow) keys to move up/down

4835

the list of folders in each column.

4836

_enable-arrow-navigation-relaxed_

4837

This feature controls the behavior of the left and right arrow

4838

keys in the FOLDER LIST screen when the enable-arrow-navigation

4839

feature is set. This feature is set by default.

4840

When this feature is set, the left and right arrow keys in the

4841

FOLDER LIST screen move the highlight bar to the left or right,

4842

and the up and down arrows move it up or down.

4843

When the "Enable-Arrow-Navigation" feature is set and this

4844

feature is not set; the left and right arrow keys in the Folder

4845

List screen strictly track the commands bound to the '<' and '>'

4846

keys, and the up and down arrow keys move the highlight bar to

4847

the previous and next folder or directory name.

4848

_enable-background-sending_

4849

If set, this feature enables a subcommand in the composer's

4850

_Send?_ confirmation prompt. The subcommand allows you to tell

4851

_Alpine_ to handle the actual posting in the background. While

4852

this feature usually allows posting to appear to happen very

4853

fast, it has no affect on the actual delivery time it takes a

4854

message to arrive at its destination.

4855

This feature isn't supported on all systems. All DOS and

4856

Windows, as well as several Unix ports, do not recognize this

4857

feature. It is not possible to use background sending if the

4858

feature send-without-confirm is set.

4859

Error handling is significantly different when this feature is

4860

enabled. Any message posting failure results in the message

4861

being appended to your _Interrupted_ mail folder. When you type

4862

the _Compose_ command, _Alpine_ will notice this folder and

4863

offer to extract any messages contained. Upon continuing a

4864

failed message, _Alpine_ will display the nature of the failure

4865

in the status message line.

4866

Under extreme conditions, it is possible for message data to get

4867

lost. Do not enable this feature if you typically run close to

4868

any sort of disk-space limits or quotas.

4869

_enable-bounce-cmd_

4870

Setting this feature enables the _B Bounce_ command, which will

4871

prompt for an address and _remail_ the message to the new

4872

recipient. This command is used to re-direct messages that you

4873

have received in error, or need to be redirected for some other

4874

reason (e.g. list moderation). The final recipient will see a

4875

header indicating that you have Resent the msg, but the

4876

message's From: header will show the original author of the

4877

message, and replies to it will go back to that author, and not

4878

to you.

4879

This feature is displayed as "Enable Bounce Command".

4880

_enable-cruise-mode_

4881

This feature affects _Alpine_'s behavior when you hit the "Space

4882

Bar" at the end of a displayed message. Typically, _Alpine_

4883

complains that the end of the text has already been reached.

4884

Setting this feature causes such keystrokes to be interpreted as

4885

if the _Tab_ key had been hit, thus taking you to the next

4886

_interesting_ message, or scanning ahead to the next incoming

4887

folder with _interesting_ messages.

4888

_enable-cruise-mode-delete_

4889

This feature modifies the behavior of _Alpine_'s

4890

_enable-cruise-mode_ feature. Setting this feature causes _Alpine_

4891

to implicitly delete read messages when it moves on to display

4892

the next _interesting_ message.

4893

NOTE: Beware when enabling this feature _and_ the

4894

expunge-without-confirm feature.

4895

This feature is displayed as "Enable Cruise Mode With Deleting".

4896

_enable-delivery-status-notification_

4897

If set, this feature enables a subcommand in the composer's

4898

"Send?" confirmation prompt. The subcommand allows you to tell

4899

_Alpine_ to request the type of Delivery Status Notification

4900

(DSN) which you would like. Most users will be happy with the

4901

default, and need not enable this feature. See the online help

4902

for more details.

4903

It is not possible to use delivery status notifications if the

4904

feature send-without-confirm is set.

4905

Note that this is not a method to request _READ_ receipts, which

4906

tells the sender when the receiver has read the message. In this

4907

case we're talking about notification of delivery to the

4908

mailbox, not notification that the message has been seen.

4909

_enable-dot-files_

4910

If set, files beginning with dot (".") will be visible in the

4911

file browser. For example, you'll be able to select them when

4912

using the browser to add an attachment to a message.

4913

_enable-dot-folders_

4914

If set, folders beginning with dot (".") may be added and

4915

viewed. This feature is displayed as "Enable Hidden Folders".

4916

_enable-exit-via-lessthan-command_

4917

If set, then on screens where there is an _Exit_ command but no

4918

_<_ command, the _<_ key will perform the same function as the

4919

_Exit_ command. This feature is set by default.

4920

_enable-fast-recent-test_

4921

This feature controls the behavior of the TAB key when

4922

traversing folders in the optional Incoming-Folders collection

4923

or in optional News-Collections.

4924

When the TAB (NextNew) key is pressed, the default behavior is

4925

to explicitly examine the status of the folder for the number of

4926

recent messages (messages delivered since the last time it was

4927

viewed). Depending on the size and number of messages in the

4928

folder, this test can be time consuming.

4929

Enabling this feature will cause _Alpine_ to only test for the

4930

existence of any recent messages rather than to obtain the

4931

count. This is much faster in many cases. The downside is that

4932

you're not given the number of recent messages when prompted to

4933

view the next folder. If the feature

4934

Tab-Uses-Unseen-For-Next-Folder is turned on, then the present

4935

feature will have no effect.

4936

_enable-flag-cmd_

4937

Setting this feature enables the _* Flag_ command, which allows

4938

you to manipulate the status flags associated with a message. By

4939

default, _Flag_ will set the _Important_ flag, which results in

4940

an asterisk being displayed in column one of the "Folder Index"

4941

for such messages.

4942

This feature is displayed as "Enable Flag Command".

4943

_enable-flag-screen-implicitly_

4944

This feature modifies the behavior of the _* Flag_ command

4945

(provided it too is enabled). By default, when the _* Flag_

4946

command is selected, _Alpine_ offers a prompt to set one of

4947

several flags and also offers the option of entering the

4948

detailed flag manipulation screen via the _^T_ key. Enabling

4949

this feature causes _Alpine_ to immediately enter the detailed

4950

flag screen rather than first offer the simple prompt. The

4951

Enable-Flag-Screen-Keyword-Shortcut option offers a slightly

4952

different way of setting keywords.

4953

_enable-flag-screen-keyword-shortcut_

4954

This feature modifies the behavior of the Flag command and the

4955

Select command. By default, when the "* Flag" command is

4956

selected, _Alpine_ offers a prompt to set one of several flags

4957

and also offers the option of entering the detailed flag

4958

manipulation screen via the "^T" key. If you have keywords

4959

defined, then enabling this feature adds a shortcut way to set

4960

or unset keywords. You use "*" followed by the first letter of a

4961

keyword (or the nickname of a keyword if you've given it a

4962

nickname) and that will set the keyword.

4963

An example is easier to understand than the explanation. The

4964

flag command can always be used to set the system flags. For

4965

example, to set the Answered flag you would type

4966

4967

* A

4968

Now suppose you have defined a keyword "Work" using the Keywords

4969

option in the Config screen. By default, to set a keyword like

4970

"Work" you would usually have to go to the Flag Details screen

4971

using the "^T To Flag Details" command. Instead, if you have

4972

enabled this feature, you may type

4973

4974

* W

4975

to set the Work flag, or

4976

4977

* ! W

4978

to unset it. Just like for the other flag setting commands, the

4979

case of the letter does not matter, so "w" or "W" both set the

4980

"Work" keyword.

4981

Notice that you can only use this trick for one keyword that

4982

begins with "W". If you happen to have a "Work" keyword and

4983

another keyword that is "WIFI" the "* W" command will set the

4984

first one in your list of keywords. Also, there are five letters

4985

which are reserved for system flags and the NOT command. If you

4986

type "* A" it will always set the Answered flag, not your

4987

"Aardvark" keyword. In order to set the "Aardvark" keyword

4988

you'll still have to use the Flag Details screen.

4989

Because enabling the Enable-Flag-Screen-Implicitly option causes

4990

_Alpine_ to skip directly to the Flag Details screen when the

4991

Flag command is used, setting it will cause this feature to have

4992

no effect at all.

4993

Similarly, when Selecting by Keyword, setting this option will

4994

allow you to use Keyword initials instead of full keywords.

4995

_enable-full-header-cmd_

4996

This feature enables the _H Full Headers_ command which toggles

4997

between the display of all headers in the message and the normal

4998

edited view of headers. The _Full Header_ command also controls

4999

which headers are included for _Export_, _Pipe_, _Print_,

5000

_Forward_, and _Reply_ functions. (For _Reply_, the _Full Header_

5001

mode will respect the _include-headers-in-reply_ feature

5002

setting.)

5003

If Full Header mode is turned on and you Forward a message, you

5004

will be asked if you'd like to forward the message as an

5005

attachment, as opposed to including the text of the message in

5006

the body of your new message.

5007

If you have also turned on the "Quote Suppression" option then

5008

the Full Headers command actually rotates through three states

5009

instead of just two. The first is the normal view with long

5010

quotes suppressed. The second is the normal view but with the

5011

long quotes included. The last enables the display of all

5012

headers in the message. When using Export, Pipe, Print, Forward,

5013

or Reply the quotes are never suppressed, so the first two

5014

states are identical.

5015

Normally, the Header Mode will reset to the default behavior

5016

when moving to a new message. The mode can be made to persist

5017

from message to message by setting the feature

5018

Quell-Full-Header-Auto-Reset.

5019

This feature is displayed as "Enable Full Header Command".

5020

_enable-full-header-and-text_

5021

This feature affects how the _H Full Headers_ command displays

5022

message text. If set, the raw message text will be displayed.

5023

This especially affects MIME formatted email, where the entire

5024

MIME format will be displayed. This feature similarly affects

5025

how messages are included for the _Export_, _Pipe_, _Print_,

5026

_Forward_, and _Reply_ functions.

5027

_enable-goto-in-file-browser_

5028

Setting this causes _Alpine_ to offer the _G Goto_ command in

5029

the file browser. The Goto command allows you to explicitly type

5030

in the desired directory. That is the default.

5031

_enable-incoming-folders_

5032

If set, this feature defines a pseudo-folder collection called

5033

_INCOMING MESSAGE FOLDERS_. Initially, the only folder included

5034

in this collection will be your _INBOX_, which will no longer

5035

show up in your default saved-message folder collection.

5036

This feature is displayed as "Enable Incoming Folders

5037

Collection".

5038

_enable-incoming-folders-checking_

5039

This feature is only operational if you have enabled the

5040

optional incoming-folders If you do have Incoming Message

5041

Folders and you also set this feature, then the number of Unseen

5042

messages in each folder will be displayed in the FOLDER LIST

5043

screen for the Incoming Message Folders. The number of Unseen

5044

messages in a folder will be displayed in parentheses to the

5045

right of the name of each folder. If there are no Unseen

5046

messages in a folder then only the name is displayed, not a set

5047

of parentheses with zero inside them. A redraw command, Ctrl-L,

5048

can be used in the FOLDER LIST screen for the Incoming Message

5049

Folders to cause an immediate update.

5050

If a check for Unseen messages fails for a particular folder

5051

then Alpine will no longer attempt to check that folder for the

5052

duration of the session and this will be indicated by a question

5053

mark inside the parentheses.

5054

The features incoming-checking-includes-total,

5055

incoming-checking-uses-recent, incoming-check-list,

5056

incoming-check-interval, incoming-check-interval-secondary, and

5057

incoming-check-timeout all affect how this feature behaves.

5058

_Disable-Index-Locale-Dates_

5059

This feature affects the display of dates in the MESSAGE INDEX.

5060

Normally an attempt is made to localize the dates used in the

5061

MESSAGE INDEX display to your locale. This is controlled with

5062

the LC_TIME locale setting on a UNIX system. On Windows the

5063

Regional Options control panel may be used to set the date

5064

format. At the programming level, _Alpine_ is using the strftime

5065

routine to print the parts of a date.

5066

If this feature is set, dates are displayed in English and with

5067

the conventions of the United States.

5068

_enable-jump-shortcut_

5069

When this feature is set you may enter a number (followed by

5070

RETURN) and jump to that message number, when in the MESSAGE

5071

INDEX or MESSAGE TEXT screens. In other words, it obviates the

5072

need for typing the _J_ for the _Jump_ command.

5073

_enable-lame-list-mode_

5074

This feature modifies the method _Alpine_ uses to ask your IMAP

5075

server for folder names to display in the the FOLDER LIST

5076

screen. It is intended to compensate for a small set of IMAP

5077

servers that are programmed to ignore a part of the request, and

5078

thus respond to _Alpine_'s query with nonsensical results.

5079

If you find that _Alpine_ is erroneously displaying blank folder

5080

lists, try enabling this feature.

5081

NOTE: Enabling this feature has consequences for the Goto and

5082

Save commands. Many servers allow access to folders outside the

5083

area reserved for your personal folders via some reserved

5084

character, typically '#' (sharp), '~' (tilde) or '/' (slash).

5085

This mechanism allows, at the Goto and Save prompts, quick

5086

access to folders outside your personal folder collection

5087

without requiring a specific collection definition. This

5088

behavior will generally not be available when this feature is

5089

enabled.

5090

This feature is displayed as "Compensate for Deficient IMAP

5091

servers".

5092

_enable-mail-check-cue_

5093

If set, this will cause an asterisk to appear in the upper

5094

left-hand corner of the screen whenever _Alpine_ checks for new

5095

mail, and two asterisks whenever _Alpine_ saves (checkpoints)

5096

the state of the current mailbox to disk.

5097

_enable-mailcap-param-substitution_

5098

If set, this will allow mailcap named parameter substitution to

5099

occur in mailcap entries. By default, this is turned off to

5100

prevent security problems which may occur with some incorrect

5101

mailcap configurations. For more information, RFC1524 and look

5102

for "named parameters" in the text of the RFC.

5103

This feature is displayed as "Enable Mailcap Parameter

5104

Substitution".

5105

_enable-mouse-in-xterm_

5106

This feature controls whether or not an X terminal mouse can be

5107

used with _Alpine_. If set, and the $DISPLAY variable indicates

5108

that an X terminal is being used, the left mouse button on the

5109

mouse can be used to select text or commands. Clicking on a

5110

command at the bottom of the screen will behave as if you had

5111

typed that command. Clicking on an index line will move the

5112

current message highlight to that line. Double-clicking on an

5113

index line will view the message. Double-clicking on a link will

5114

view the link.

5115

This type of mouse support will also work in some terminal

5116

emulators which are not actually X terminals, but which have

5117

extra code to support the xterm style mouse. For those emulators

5118

you not only need to turn this feature on but you also have to

5119

set the $DISPLAY environment variable even though it isn't

5120

needed for your terminal. That will cause _Alpine_ to think that

5121

it is an xterm and to properly interpret the escape sequences

5122

sent by the mouse.

5123

Note: if this feature is set, the behavior of X terminal

5124

cut-and-paste is also modified. It is sometimes possible to hold

5125

the shift key down while clicking left or middle mouse buttons

5126

for the normal xterm cut/paste operations. There is also an

5127

_Alpine_ command to toggle this mode on or off. The command is

5128

Ctrl-\ (Control-backslash).

5129

_enable-msg-view-addresses_

5130

This feature modifies the behavior of _Alpine_'s "Message Text"

5131

screen. Setting this feature causes _Alpine_ to select possible

5132

email addresses from the displayed text and display them in

5133

boldface for selection.

5134

The first available email address is displayed in inverse. This

5135

is the "selected" address. Pressing _RETURN_ will cause _Alpine_

5136

to enter the message composition screen with the To field filled

5137

in with the selected address.

5138

Use the up and down arrow keys to change which of the addresses

5139

displayed in boldface is the current selection.

5140

This feature is displayed as "Enable Message View Address

5141

Links".

5142

_enable-msg-view-attachments_

5143

This feature modifies the behavior of _Alpine_'s "Message Text"

5144

screen. Setting this feature causes _Alpine_ to present

5145

attachments in boldface. The first available attachment is

5146

displayed in inverse. This is the "selected" attachment.

5147

Pressing _RETURN_ will cause _Alpine_ to display the selected

5148

attachment. Use the up and down arrow keys to change which of

5149

the attachments displayed in boldface is the current selection.

5150

Speaking of arrow keys, the Up and Down Arrows will select the

5151

next and previous attachments if one is available on the screen

5152

for selection. Otherwise, they will simply adjust the viewed

5153

text one line up or down.

5154

Similarly, when selectable items are present in a message, the

5155

Ctrl-F key can be used to select the next item in the message

5156

independent of which portion of the viewed message is currently

5157

displayed. The Ctrl-B key can be used to select the previous

5158

item in the same way.

5159

This feature is displayed as "Enable Message View Attachment

5160

Links".

5161

_enable-msg-view-forced-arrows_

5162

This feature modifies Up and Down arrow key behavior in

5163

_Alpine_'s "Message Text" screen when selectable Attachments,

5164

URL's, or web-hostnames are presented. _Alpine_'s usual behavior

5165

is to move to the next or previous selectable item if currently

5166

displayed or simply to adjust the screen view by one line if the

5167

next selectable line is off the screen.

5168

Setting this feature causes the Up and Down arrow keys to behave

5169

as if no selectable items were present in the message.

5170

Note, the _Ctrl-F_ (next selectable item) and _Ctrl-B_ (previous

5171

selectable item) functionality is unchanged.

5172

This feature is displayed as "Enable Message View Forced

5173

Arrows".

5174

_enable-msg-view-urls_

5175

This feature modifies the behavior of _Alpine_'s "Message Text"

5176

screen. When this feature is set (the default) _Alpine_ will

5177

select possible URLs from the displayed text and display them in

5178

boldface for selection.

5179

The first available URL is displayed in inverse. This is the

5180

"selected" URL. Pressing _RETURN_ will cause _Alpine_ to display

5181

the selected URL via either built-in means as with mailto:,

5182

imap:, news:, and nntp:, or via an external application as

5183

defined by the url-viewers variable.

5184

Use the up and down arrow keys to change which of the URLs

5185

displayed in boldface is the current selection.

5186

This feature is displayed as "Enable Message View URL Links".

5187

_enable-msg-view-web-hostnames_

5188

This feature modifies the behavior of _Alpine_'s "Message Text"

5189

screen. When this feature is set (the default) _Alpine_ will

5190

select possible web hostnames from the displayed text and

5191

display them in boldface for selection.

5192

The first available hostname is displayed in inverse. This is

5193

the "selected" hostname. Pressing _RETURN_ will cause _Alpine_

5194

to display the selected hostname via an external application as

5195

defined by the url-viewers variable.

5196

Use the up and down arrow keys to change which of the hostnames

5197

displayed in boldface is the current selection.

5198

This feature is displayed as "Enable Message View Web Hostname

5199

Links".

5200

_enable-multiple-newsrcs_

5201

This feature makes it so _Alpine_ can use multiple newsrcs based

5202

on the news server being connected to, which allows for separate

5203

lists of subscribed-to newsgroups. When this feature is not set,

5204

there is only one list of newsgroups.

5205

Under this feature, the name of a newsrc is based on the news

5206

server. For example, if your newsrc-path is set to ".newsrc",

5207

and the news server you are connecting to is news.example.com,

5208

then the newsrc to be used is .newsrc-news.example.com. Setting

5209

this feature for the first time will allow for the option of

5210

using your old newsrc the next time you read news.

5211

If this feature is set, then the feature

5212

Mult-Newsrc-Hostnames-As-Typed also may affect the name of the

5213

newsrc file that is used.

5214

_enable-newmail-in-xterm-icon_

5215

This feature controls whether or not _Alpine_ will attempt to

5216

announce new mail arrival when it is running in an X terminal

5217

window and that window is iconified. If set, and the $DISPLAY

5218

variable indicates that an X terminal is being used, _Alpine_

5219

will send appropriate escape sequences to the X terminal to

5220

modify the label on _Alpine_'s icon to indicate that new mail

5221

has arrived. _Alpine_ will also modify the _Alpine_ window's

5222

title to indicate new mail. See also

5223

Enable-Newmail-Short-Text-in-Icon.

5224

_enable-newmail-short-text-in-icon_

5225

This feature controls the text to be displayed in an icon in the

5226

event of a new message arrival. Normally, the message will be

5227

the one that is displayed on the screen. This feature shortens

5228

the message to a count of the number of new messages in

5229

brackets. This may be more useful for those who use the window's

5230

title bar in the task bar as a new mail indicator. This feature

5231

is only useful if the Enable-Newmail-in-Xterm-Icon is also set.

5232

Like the Enable-Newmail-in-Xterm-Icon feature, this feature is

5233

only relevant when run in an xterm environment.

5234

_enable-partial-match-lists_

5235

This feature affects the subcommands available when _Sav_ing or

5236

Opening a new folder. If set, the subcommand _^X ListMatches_

5237

will be available. This command allows you to type in a

5238

substring of the folder you are looking for and when you type

5239

_^X_ it will display all folders which contain that substring in

5240

their names. This feature is set by default.

5241

_enable-print-via-y-command_

5242

By default, _Alpine_'s print command is available by pressing

5243

the _%_ key. In older versions of _Pine_, the print command was

5244

accessed by pressing the _Y_ key.

5245

Enabling this feature will cause _Alpine_ to recognize both the

5246

old command, _Y_, and the new _%_ method for invoking printing.

5247

Note, key menu labels are not changed as a result of enabling

5248

this feature.

5249

_enable-reply-indent-string-editing_

5250

This feature affects the Reply command's "Include original

5251

message in Reply?" prompt. When enabled, it causes the "Edit

5252

Indent String" sub-command to appear which allows you to edit

5253

the string _Alpine_ would otherwise use to denote included text

5254

from the message being replied to.

5255

Thus, you can change _Alpine_'s default message quote character

5256

(usually an angle bracket) on a per message basis. So you could

5257

change your quoted message to look, for example, like this:

5258

On Tues, 26 Jan 1999, John Q. Smith wrote:

5259

5260

John: I just wanted to say hello and to congratulate you

5261

John: on a job well done!

5262

The configuration option "reply-indent-string" may be used to

5263

change what appears as the default string to be edited.

5264

NOTE: Edited reply-indent-strings only apply to the message

5265

currently being replied to.

5266

_enable-rules-under-take_

5267

Normally, the Take command takes addresses from a message and

5268

helps you put them into your Address Book. If you use Rules for

5269

Indexcolors, Roles, Filtering, or Scoring; you may find it

5270

useful to be able to Take information from a message's headers

5271

and put it into a new Rule. When this feature is set, you will

5272

be given an extra prompt which gives you the choice to Take into

5273

the Address Book or Take into a rule.

5274

This feature is displayed as "Enable Take Rules".

5275

_enable-search-and-replace_

5276

If set _Alpine_'s composer offers the _R Replace_ command option

5277

inside the _W WhereIs_ command.

5278

_enable-sigdashes_

5279

If set and a _signature-file_ exists, the line consisting of the

5280

three characters "-- " (dash dash space) is included before the

5281

signature. This only happens if the signature doesn't already

5282

contain such a line.

5283

In addition, when you Reply or Followup to a message containing

5284

one of these special lines and choose to include its text,

5285

_Alpine_ will observe the convention of not including text beyond

5286

the special line in your reply.

5287

_enable-suspend_

5288

Setting this feature will allow you to type _^Z_ and temporarily

5289

suspend _Alpine_. Not available on _PC-Alpine_.

5290

_enable-tab-completion_

5291

This feature enables the _TAB_ key when at a prompt for a

5292

filename. In this case, _TAB_ will cause the partial name

5293

already entered to be automatically completed, provided the

5294

partial name is unambiguous. This feature is set by default.

5295

Similarly, this feature also enables TAB completion of address

5296

book nicknames when at a prompt for a nickname, or when typing

5297

in an address field in the composer.

5298

_enable-take-export_

5299

Normally, the Take command takes addresses from a message and

5300

helps you put them into your Address Book. When this feature is

5301

set, you will be given an extra prompt which gives you the

5302

choice to Take addresses into a file instead of your Address

5303

Book. Only the user@domain_name part of the address is put in

5304

the file.

5305

_enable-tray-icon_

5306

_PC-Alpine_ only. This option restores a behavior of previous

5307

versions of PC-Alpine. These versions, when started, installed a

5308

PC-Alpine icon in the notification tray of Window's Taskbar. The

5309

primary use of this icon was to indicate new mail arrival by

5310

turning red (while the Taskbar icon remained green).

5311

Additionally, the icon now changes to yellow to signify that a

5312

mail folder has been closed unexpectedly.

5313

Rather than add another icon to the Taskbar, this version of

5314

PC-Alpine will color its Taskbar entry's icon red (as well as

5315

the icon in the Window Title). This feature is only provided for

5316

backwards compatibility.

5317

_enable-unix-pipe-cmd_

5318

This feature enables the _| Pipe_ command that sends the current

5319

message to the specified Unix command for external processing.

5320

This feature is displayed as "Enable Unix Pipe Command".

5321

_enable-verbose-smtp-posting_

5322

This feature controls an aspect of _Alpine_'s message sending.

5323

When enabled, _Alpine_ will send a VERB (i.e., VERBose) command

5324

early in the posting process intended to cause the server SMTP

5325

to provide a more detailed account of the transaction. This

5326

feature is typically only useful to system administrators and

5327

other support personel as an aid in troublshooting problems.

5328

Note, this feature relies on a specific capability of the

5329

system's mail transport agent or configured smtp-server.

5330

_expanded-view-of-addressbooks_

5331

If multiple address books (either personal or global) are

5332

defined, and you wish to have them all expanded implicitly upon

5333

entering the ADDRESS BOOK screen, then set this feature. This

5334

feature will have no effect unless the feature

5335

combined-addrbook-display is also set.

5336

_expanded-view-of-distribution-lists_

5337

If this feature is set, then distribution lists in the address

5338

book screen will always be expanded automatically.

5339

_expanded-view-of-folders_

5340

If multiple folder collections are defined, and you wish to have

5341

them all expanded implicitly upon entering the FOLDER LIST

5342

screen, then set this feature. This feature will have no effect

5343

unless the feature combined-folder-display is also set.

5344

_expose-hidden-config_

5345

The purpose of this feature is to allow you to change

5346

configuration features and variables which are normally hidden.

5347

This is particularly useful if you are using a remote

5348

configuration file, where it is difficult to edit the file

5349

manually, but it may also be used on a local pinerc

5350

configuration file.

5351

If set, most configuration variables and features which are

5352

normally hidden from view will show up in the

5353

Setup/Configuration screen. They will be at the bottom of the

5354

configuration screen. You can find them by searching for the

5355

word "hidden".

5356

Note that this is an advanced feature which should be used with

5357

care. The reason that this part of the configuration is normally

5358

hidden is because there is a significant potential for causing

5359

problems if you change these variables. If something breaks

5360

after a change try changing it back to see if that is what is

5361

causing the problem. There are also some variables which are

5362

normally hidden because they are manipulated through _Alpine_ in

5363

other ways. For example, the "address-book" variable is normally

5364

set using the Setup/AddressBooks screen, so there is little

5365

reason to edit it directly. The "incoming-folders" variable is

5366

normally changed by using the Add, Delete, and Rename commands

5367

in the FOLDER LIST screen, and the "last-time-prune-questioned"

5368

variable is normally used internally by _Alpine_ and not set

5369

directly by the user.

5370

_expunge-only-manually_

5371

Normally, when you close a folder which contains deleted

5372

messages you are asked if you want to expunge those messages

5373

from the folder permanently. If this feature is set, you won't

5374

be asked and the deleted messages will remain in the folder. If

5375

you choose to set this feature you will have to expunge the

5376

messages manually using the eXpunge command, which you can use

5377

while in the MESSAGE INDEX screen. If you do not expunge deleted

5378

messages the size of your folder will continue to increase until

5379

you are out of disk space.

5380

_expunge-without-confirm_

5381

If set, you will not be prompted to confirm your intent before

5382

the expunge takes place. Actually, you will still be prompted

5383

for confirmation if the folder is not the _INBOX_ folder or

5384

another folder in the Incoming Folders collection. See the

5385

_expunge-without-confirm-everywhere_ feature which follows.

5386

This feature is displayed as "Expunge Without Confirming".

5387

_expunge-without-confirm-everywhere_

5388

The regular _expunge-without-confirm_ feature actually only

5389

works for the _INBOX_ folder and for other folders in the

5390

"Incoming Folders" collection. If this feature is set then you

5391

also won't be prompted to confirm expunges for all other

5392

folders.

5393

This feature is displayed as "Expunge Without Confirming

5394

Everywhere".

5395

_fcc-on-bounce_

5396

If set, normal Fcc (File Carbon Copy) processing will be done

5397

for bounced messages, just as if you had composed a message to

5398

the address you are bouncing to. If not set, no Fcc of the

5399

message will be saved.

5400

This feature is displayed as "Include Fcc When Bouncing

5401

Messages".

5402

_fcc-only-without-confirm_

5403

This features controls an aspect of _Alpine_'s composer. The

5404

only time this feature will be used is if you attempt to send

5405

mail which has no recipients but does have an Fcc. Normally,

5406

_Alpine_ will ask if you really mean to copy the message only to

5407

the Fcc. That is, it asks if you really meant to have no

5408

recipients. If this feature is set, you will _not_ be prompted

5409

to confirm your intent to make only a copy of a message with no

5410

recipients.

5411

This feature is closely related to

5412

warn-if-blank-to-and-cc-and-newsgroups. The difference between

5413

this feature and that feature is that this feature considers a

5414

Bcc to be a recipient while that feature will ask for

5415

confirmation even if there is a Bcc when there is no To, Cc, or

5416

Newsgroup. The default values also differ. This feature defaults

5417

to asking the question and you have to turn it off. The

5418

warn-if-blank-to-and-cc-and-newsgroups feature defaults to not

5419

asking unless you turn it on.

5420

This feature is displayed as "Send to Fcc Only Without

5421

Confirming".

5422

_fcc-without-attachments_

5423

This features controls the way FCC's (File Carbon Copies) are

5424

made of the messages you send.

5425

Normally, _Alpine_ saves an exact copy of your message as it was

5426

sent. When this feature is enabled, the "body" of the message

5427

you send (the text you type in the composer) is preserved in the

5428

copy as before, however all attachments are replaced with text

5429

explaining what had been sent rather than the attachments

5430

themselves.

5431

This feature also affects _Alpine_'s "Send ?" confirmation

5432

prompt in that a new "^F Fcc Attchmnts" option becomes available

5433

which allows you to interactively set whether or not attachments

5434

are saved to the Fcc'd copy.

5435

This feature is displayed as "Fcc Does Not Include Attachments".

5436

_force-arrow-cursor_

5437

This feature affects _Alpine_'s MESSAGE INDEX display routine.

5438

If set, the normal inverse-video cursor will be replaced by a

5439

simple "arrow" cursor, which normally occupies the second column

5440

of the index display.

5441

This is the same index cursor you get if you turn on

5442

Assume-Slow-Link, but the index line coloring will still be

5443

present if this feature is turned on and Assume-Slow-Link is

5444

off.

5445

An alternative version of the Arrow cursor is available by

5446

including the ARROW token in the Index-Format option.

5447

It ought to be the case that this feature also affects the

5448

ATTACHMENT INDEX, but that is not implemented.

5449

_hide-nntp-path_

5450

Normally the Path header that _Alpine_ generates when posting to

5451

a newsgroup contains the name of the computer from which the

5452

message is being sent and the user name. Some believe that this

5453

information is used by spammers. If this feature is set, that

5454

information will be replaced with the text

5455

5456

not-for-mail

5457

instead.

5458

It should be noted that many servers being connected to will

5459

still reveal the information that this feature attempts to

5460

protect.

5461

_include-attachments-in-reply_

5462

If set, any MIME attachments that were part of the original

5463

message will automatically be included in a _Reply_.

5464

_include-header-in-reply_

5465

If set, and a message being replied to is included in the

5466

_Reply_, then headers from that message will also be part of the

5467

reply.

5468

_include-text-in-reply_

5469

Normally, _Alpine_ will ask whether you wish to include the

5470

original message in your _Reply_. If this feature is set and the

5471

feature enable-reply-indent-string-editing is _not_ set, then

5472

the original message will be included in the reply

5473

automatically, without prompting.

5474

_incoming-checking-includes-total_

5475

This option has no effect unless the feature

5476

enable-incoming-folders-checking is set, which in turn has no

5477

effect unless incoming-folders is set.

5478

When incoming folder checking is turned on the default is to

5479

display the number of unseen messages in each folder. More

5480

precisely, it is the number of undeleted unseen messages. Using

5481

this option you may also display the total number of messages in

5482

each folder. Instead of a single number representing the number

5483

of unseen messages you will get two numbers separated by a slash

5484

character. The first is the number of unseen messages and the

5485

second is the total number of messages.

5486

You may also use the recent message count instead of the unseen

5487

message count by turning on the feature

5488

incoming-checking-uses-recent.

5489

_incoming-checking-uses-recent_

5490

This option has no effect unless the feature

5491

enable-incoming-folders-checking is set, which in turn has no

5492

effect unless incoming-folders is set.

5493

When incoming folder checking is turned on the default is to

5494

display the number of unseen messages in each folder. More

5495

precisely, it is the number of undeleted unseen messages. Using

5496

this option you may display the number of recent messages

5497

instead of the number of unseen messages. A message is only

5498

counted as recent if this is the first session to see it, so the

5499

recent count might be less than the unseen count. The difference

5500

between the two would be accounted for by the unseen messages in

5501

the folder which were there previously but have not been looked

5502

at yet.

5503

If you simultaneously run more than one email client at a time

5504

(for example, you run more than one _Alpine_ in parallel) then

5505

turning this feature on can cause some confusion. The confusion

5506

stems from the fact that each message is only considered to be

5507

recent in one session. That means that the counts of new

5508

messages may be different in the two _Alpine_s running side by

5509

side, because each incoming message will only be counted as

5510

recent in one of the two sessions.

5511

You may also display the total number of messages in each folder

5512

by using the incoming-checking-includes-total option.

5513

_ldap-result-to-addrbook-add_

5514

This is only available if _Alpine_ was linked with an LDAP

5515

library when it was compiled. If both the per-directory-server

5516

option use-implicitly-from-composer and this feature are set,

5517

then when an implicit directory lookup is done from the composer

5518

you will automatically be prompted to add the result of the

5519

directory lookup to your address book.

5520

This feature is displayed as "LDAP Result to Addressbook Add".

5521

_maildrops-preserve-state_

5522

This feature affects the way Mail Drops work. Normally, when

5523

mail is moved from a Mail Drop folder to a destination folder,

5524

the state changes that have taken place since the mail was

5525

originally delivered are lost. Any Seen/New, Answered,

5526

Important/Flagged state that has changed will be ignored. All of

5527

the mail will be considered unSeen, unAnswered, and unImportant

5528

after it is moved.

5529

If this feature is set, then the state changes will not be lost.

5530

In any case, messages which are already marked Deleted when the

5531

mail is to be copied from the Mail Drop will be ignored.

5532

_mark-fcc-seen_

5533

This features controls the way FCCs (File Carbon Copies) are

5534

made of the messages you send. Normally, when _Alpine_ saves a

5535

copy of a message you sent as an Fcc, that copy will be marked

5536

as Unseen. When you look at the folder it was saved in the

5537

message will appear to be a New message until you read it. When

5538

this feature is enabled, the message will be marked as having

5539

been Seen.

5540

_mark-for-cc_

5541

This feature affects _Alpine_'s MESSAGE INDEX display. By

5542

default, a '+' is displayed in the first column if the message

5543

is addressed directly to you. When this feature is set and the

5544

message is not addressed to you, then a '-' character is

5545

displayed if the message is instead Cc'd directly to you.

5546

_mult-newsrc-hostnames-as-typed_

5547

This feature will be of little use to most users. It has no

5548

effect unless the feature Enable-Multiple-Newsrcs is set. When

5549

the Enable-Multiple-Newsrcs feature is set then the setting of

5550

this feature may have an effect on the names of the newsrc files

5551

used. Normally, the name of the news server will be

5552

canonicalized before it is used in the newsrc file name. For

5553

example, if you type the news server name

5554

5555

servername

5556

it is likely that the canonical name will be something like

5557

5558

servername.example.com

5559

Or it may be the case that

5560

5561

servername.example.com

5562

is really an alias (a DNS CNAME) for

5563

5564

othername.example.com

5565

If this feature is not set, then the canonicalized names will be

5566

used. If this feature is set, then the name you typed in (or put

5567

in your configuration) will be used.

5568

This feature is displayed as "Multiple Newsrc Hostnames as

5569

Typed".

5570

_news-approximates-new-status_

5571

This feature causes certain messages to be marked as _New_ in

5572

the MESSAGE INDEX of newsgroups. This feature is set by default.

5573

When opening a newsgroup, _Alpine_ will consult your _newsrc_

5574

file and determine the last message you have previously disposed

5575

of via the _D_ key. If this feature is set, any subsequent

5576

messages will be shown in the Index with an _N_, and the first

5577

of these messages will be highlighted. Although this is only an

5578

approximation of true _New_ or _Unseen_ status, it provides a

5579

useful cue to distinguish more-or-less recent messages from

5580

those you have seen previously, but are not yet ready to mark

5581

deleted.

5582

Background: your _newsrc_ file (used to store message status

5583

information for newsgroups) is only capable of storing a single

5584

flag, and _Alpine_ uses this to record whether or not you are

5585

"done with" a message, as indicated by marking the message as

5586

_Deleted_. Unfortunately, this means that _Alpine_ has no way to

5587

record exactly which messages you have previously seen, so it

5588

normally does not show the _N_ status flag for any messages in a

5589

newsgroup. This feature enables a starting _approximation_ of

5590

seen/unseen status that may be useful.

5591

_news-deletes-across-groups_

5592

This feature controls what _Alpine_ does when you delete a

5593

message in a newsgroup that appears in more than one newsgroup.

5594

Such a message is sometimes termed a "crossposting" in that it

5595

was posted across several newsgroups.

5596

_Alpine_'s default behavior when you delete such a message is to

5597

remove only the copy in the current newsgroup from view when you

5598

use the "Exclude" command or the next time you visit the

5599

newsgroup.

5600

Enabling this feature causes _Alpine_ to remove every occurrence

5601

of the message from all newsgroups it appears in and to which

5602

you are subscribed.

5603

NOTE: As currently implemented, enabling this feature may

5604

increase the time it takes the Expunge command and newsgroup

5605

closing to complete.

5606

_news-offers-catchup-on-close_

5607

This feature controls what _Alpine_ does as it closes a

5608

newsgroup. When set, _Alpine_ will offer to delete all messages

5609

from the newsgroup as you are quitting _Alpine_ or opening a new

5610

folder.

5611

This feature is useful if you typically read all the interesting

5612

messages in a newsgroup each time you open it. This feature

5613

saves you from having to delete each message in a newsgroup as

5614

you read it or from selecting all the messages and doing an

5615

aggregate delete before you move on to the next folder or

5616

newsgroup.

5617

_news-post-without-validation_

5618

This feature controls whether the NNTP server is queried as

5619

newsgroups are entered for posting. Validation over slow links

5620

(e.g. dialup using SLIP or PPP) can cause delays. Set this

5621

feature to eliminate such delays.

5622

_news-read-in-newsrc-order_

5623

This feature controls the order that newsgroups will be

5624

presented. If set, they will be presented in the same order as

5625

they occur in your _newsrc_ file. If not set, the newsgroups

5626

will be presented in alphabetical order.

5627

_next-thread-without-confirm_

5628

This feature controls an aspect of _Alpine_'s Next and Prev

5629

commands in the case where you are using one of the

5630

"separate-index-screen" styles for the configuration option

5631

threading-index-style and currently have the folder sorted by a

5632

Threaded or OrderedSubject sort. When you are Viewing a

5633

particular thread you have a MESSAGE INDEX of only the messages

5634

in that thread. If you press the Next command with the last

5635

message in the thread highlighted you will normally be asked if

5636

you want to "View next thread?", assuming there is a next thread

5637

to view. If this feature is set it will be assumed that you

5638

always want to view the next thread and you won't be asked to

5639

confirm that. Similarly, if the first message of the thread is

5640

highlighted and you press the Prev command, this feature will

5641

prevent the question "View previous thread".

5642

This feature only has an effect in the MESSAGE INDEX screen. If

5643

you then view a particular message from that screen and press

5644

the Next command, you will be sent to the next thread without

5645

being asked, independent of the setting of this feature.

5646

The feature auto-open-next-unread, also has some similar

5647

effects.

5648

This feature is displayed as "Read Next Thread Without

5649

Confirming".

5650

_offer-expunge-of-inbox_

5651

The INBOX is normally treated differently from regular folders

5652

in several ways. One of the differences is that the normal

5653

"close" sequence of events is deferred until _Alpine_ is exited,

5654

instead of happening when you leave the INBOX to view another

5655

folder. The "close" sequence normally includes the Expunging of

5656

deleted messages (either automatically or after a prompt,

5657

controlled by the features Expunge-Without-Confirm,

5658

Expunge-Without-Confirm-Everywhere, and Expunge-Only-Manually),

5659

and the handling of the Read-Message-Folder.

5660

If this feature is set the "close" sequence handling will take

5661

place every time you leave the INBOX. The INBOX will still be

5662

kept open, but the offer to Expunge and the archiving to the

5663

Read-Message-Folder will take place each time you leave the

5664

INBOX instead of only once at the end of the session.

5665

_offer-expunge-of-stayopen-folders_

5666

This feature is related to the option Stay-Open-Folders. Stay

5667

Open folders are treated differently from regular folders in

5668

several ways. One of the differences is that the normal "close"

5669

sequence of events is deferred until _Alpine_ is exited, instead

5670

of happening when you leave the folder to view another folder.

5671

The "close" sequence normally includes the Expunging of deleted

5672

messages (either automatically or after a prompt, controlled by

5673

the features Expunge-Without-Confirm,

5674

Expunge-Without-Confirm-Everywhere, and Expunge-Only-Manually),

5675

and the handling of Incoming-Archive-Folders.

5676

If this feature is set the "close" sequence handling will take

5677

place when you leave the Stay Open folder. The folder will still

5678

be kept open, but the offer to Expunge and the archiving will

5679

take place each time you leave the folder instead of only once

5680

at the end of the session. This feature does not affect the

5681

INBOX, which will still only be processed when you exit

5682

_Alpine_.

5683

_pass-c1-control-characters-as-is_

5684

It is probably not useful to set this option. This is a legacy

5685

option left behind "just in case". Multi-byte characters which

5686

have an octet which has the same value as a control character

5687

are permitted through whether or not this option is turned on.

5688

If the feature pass-control-characters-as-is is set, then this

5689

feature has no effect. However, if you wish to filter out

5690

regular control characters but pass the so-called C1 control

5691

characters (0x80 <= char < 0xA0) through unchanged, then you may

5692

leave pass-control-characters-as-is unset and set this feature.

5693

_pass-control-characters-as-is_

5694

It is probably not useful to set this option. This is a legacy

5695

option left behind "just in case". Multi-byte characters which

5696

have an octet which has the same value as a control character

5697

are permitted through whether or not this option is turned on.

5698

If set, all characters in a message will be sent to the screen.

5699

Normally, control characters are automatically suppressed in

5700

order to avoid inadvertently changing terminal setup parameters.

5701

Control characters are usually displayed as two character

5702

sequences like

5703

5704

^C

5705

for Control-C,

5706

5707

^[

5708

for ESCAPE,

5709

5710

^?

5711

for DELETE, and

5712

5713

~E

5714

for the character with value 133 (0x85). (The DEL character is

5715

displayed as ^?, regular control characters are displayed as the

5716

character ^ followed by the character obtained by adding the

5717

five low-order bits of the character to 0x40, and the C1 control

5718

characters 0x80 - 0x9F are displayed as the character ~ followed

5719

by the character obtained by adding the five low-order bits of

5720

the character to 0x40.) Sometimes, in cases where changing a

5721

single control character into a two-character sequence would

5722

confuse _Alpine_'s display routines, a question mark is

5723

substituted for the control character.

5724

If you wish to filter out regular control characters but pass

5725

the so-called C1 control characters (0x80 <= char < 0xA0)

5726

through unchanged, then you may leave this feature unset and set

5727

the feature pass-c1-control-characters-as-is instead.

5728

_predict-nntp-server_

5729

This feature allows _Alpine_ to assume that the open NNTP server

5730

at the time of composition is the NNTP server to which the

5731

message should be posted. This is especially recommended when

5732

there are multiple News collections. If this feature is not set,

5733

_Alpine_ will try to post to the first server in the nntp-server

5734

variable. Setting this feature also negates the need to add News

5735

collection servers to the nntp-server variable.

5736

This feature can be especially handy when used in conjunction

5737

with enable-multiple-newsrcs.

5738

This option is displayed as "NNTP Server (for news)".

5739

_prefer-plain-text_

5740

A message being viewed may contain alternate versions of the

5741

same content. Those alternate versions are ordered by the

5742

sending software such that the first alternative is the least

5743

preferred and the last alternative is the most preferred.

5744

_Alpine_ will normally display the most-preferred version that it

5745

knows how to display. This is most often encountered where the

5746

two alternate versions are a plain text version and an HTML

5747

version, with the HTML version listed last as the most

5748

preferred.

5749

If this option is set, then any plain text version will be

5750

preferred to all other versions.

5751

_preopen-stayopen-folders_

5752

This feature is related to the option Stay-Open-Folders.

5753

Normally, Stay Open folders are only opened on demand, when the

5754

user asks to open them. From then on they are kept open for the

5755

duration of the session. However, if this feature is set, then

5756

the Stay Open folders will all be opened at startup, at the same

5757

time that the INBOX is opened.

5758

_preserve-start-stop-characters_

5759

This feature controls how special control key characters,

5760

typically _^S_ and _^Q_, are interpreted when input to _Alpine_.

5761

These characters are known as the "start" and "stop" characters

5762

and are sometimes used in communications paths to control data

5763

flow between devices that operate at different speeds.

5764

By default, _Alpine_ turns the system's handling of these

5765

special characters off except during printing. However, if you

5766

see _Alpine_ reporting input errors such as:

5767

5768

[ Command "^Q" not defined for this screen. ]

5769

and, at the same time, see your display become garbled, then it

5770

is likely that setting this option will solve the problem. Be

5771

aware, though, that enabling this feature will also cause

5772

_Alpine_ to ostensibly "hang" whenever the _Ctrl-S_ key

5773

combination is entered as the system is now interpreting such

5774

input as a "stop output" command. To "start output" again,

5775

simply type _Ctrl-Q_.

5776

This feature is displayed as "Preserve Start/Stop Characters".

5777

_print-formfeed-between-messages_

5778

Setting this feature causes a formfeed to be printed between

5779

messages when printing multiple messages with the _Apply Print_

5780

command.

5781

_print-includes-from-line_

5782

If this feature is set, then the Unix mail style From line is

5783

included at the start of each message that is printed. This line

5784

looks something like the following, with the address replaced by

5785

the address from the From line of the message being printed:

5786

5787

From user@domain.somewhere.com Mon May 13 14:11:06 1996

5788

_print-index-enabled_

5789

This feature controls the behavior of the _Print_ command when

5790

in the "Folder Index" screen. If set, the _Print_ command will

5791

give you a prompt asking if you wish to print the message index,

5792

or the currently highlighted message. If not set, the message

5793

will be printed.

5794

_print-offers-custom-cmd-prompt_

5795

When this feature is set, the _Print_ command will have an

5796

additional subcommand called _C CustomPrint_. If selected, you

5797

will have the opportunity to enter any system print command,

5798

instead of being restricted to using those that have been

5799

previously configured in the _Setup/Printer_ screen.

5800

This feature is displayed as "Print Offers Custom Command

5801

Prompt".

5802

_prune-uses-yyyy-mm_

5803

By default, _Alpine_ asks monthly whether or not you would like

5804

to rename some folders to a new name containing the date. It

5805

also asks whether or not you would like to delete some old

5806

folders. See the pruning-rule option for an explanation.

5807

By default, the name used when renaming a folder looks like

5808

5809

5810

For example, the first time you run _Alpine_ in May of 2004, the

5811

folder "sent-mail" might be renamed to

5812

5813

sent-mail-apr-2004

5814

If this feature is set, the name used will be of the form

5815

5816

5817

where "yyyy" is the year and "mm" is the two-digit month (01,

5818

02, ..., 12). For the April, 2004 example above, it would

5819

instead be

5820

5821

sent-mail-2004-04

5822

because April is the 4th month of the year. A reason you might

5823

want to set this feature is so that the folders will sort in

5824

chronological order.

5825

_publiccerts-in-keychain_

5826

Mac OS X _Alpine_ only.

5827

If this feature is set the Mac OS X default keychain will be

5828

used as the place to store public certificates instead of a

5829

smime-public-cert-directory or a smime-public-cert-container.

5830

This feature is displayed as "S/MIME -- Public Certs in MacOS

5831

Keychain".

5832

_quell-attachment-extension-warn_

5833

This feature suppresses the extra warning you can get when

5834

trying to view an attachment for which there is no mime-type

5835

match. Turning on this feature will just run the program

5836

according to extension instead of first warning the user that it

5837

will run according to the file's extension.

5838

This feature can be used along side

5839

quell-attachment-extra-prompt to preserve the behavior exhibited

5840

in _Pine_ versions prior to _Pine_ 4.50.

5841

This feature is displayed as "Suppress Attachment Extension

5842

Warning".

5843

_quell-attachment-extra-prompt_

5844

By default, when you attempt to view an attachment externally

5845

from the "Attachment View" screen, you are asked if you really

5846

want to view the selected attachment.

5847

If this feature is set, you will _not_ be prompted to confirm

5848

your selection. Prior to _Pine_ 4.50, the default behavior was

5849

to not prompt. This feature was added for those wanting to

5850

preserve that behavior.

5851

This feature is displayed as "Suppress Attachment Extra Prompt".

5852

_quell-berkeley-format-timezone_

5853

POSIX mandates a timezone in UNIX mailbox format folder

5854

delimiters (the line which begins with From ). Some versions of

5855

Berkeley mail have trouble with this, and don't recognize the

5856

line as a message delimiter. If this feature is set, the

5857

timezone will be left off the delimiter line.

5858

This feature is displayed as "Suppress Berkeley Format

5859

Timezone".

5860

_quell-charset-warning_

5861

By default, if the message you are viewing contains characters

5862

that are not representable in your display-character-set then

5863

_Alpine_ will add a warning to the start of the displayed text.

5864

If this option is set, then that editorial message will be

5865

suppressed.

5866

Setting this feature also suppresses the comment about the

5867

character set in header lines. For example, when viewing a

5868

message you might see

5869

5870

From: "[ISO-8859-2] Name" <address>

5871

in the From header if your Character-Set is something other than

5872

ISO-8859-2. If you set this feature, the comment about the

5873

character set will no longer be there.

5874

This feature is displayed as "Suppress Character Set Warning".

5875

_quell-content-id_

5876

This feature changes the behavior of _Alpine_ when sending

5877

messages. It is intended to work around a bug in Microsoft's

5878

Outlook XP mail user agent. As of this writing, Microsoft has

5879

acknowledged the bug but has not added it to the Knowledge Base.

5880

We have been told that there will be a post-SP1 hotfix for

5881

Outlook XP. This particular bug has bug fix number

5882

OfficeQFE:4781. The nature of the bug is that messages with

5883

attachments which contain a Content-ID header (which standard

5884

_Alpine_ attachments do) do not show the attachment indicator (a

5885

paperclip) when viewed with Outlook XP. So the user has no

5886

indication that the message contains an attachment.

5887

If this feature is set then _Alpine_ will remove most Content-ID

5888

headers before sending a message. If an attachment is of type

5889

MESSAGE, then the existing Content-ID headers inside the message

5890

will be left intact. This would only happen with _Alpine_ if a

5891

message was forwarded as an attachment or if a message with a

5892

message attached was forwarded. Similarly if an attachment of

5893

type MULTIPART/ALTERNATIVE is forwarded, the Content-ID headers

5894

of the alternative parts will not be removed.

5895

Because the Content-ID header is a standard part of MIME it is

5896

possible that setting this feature will break something. For

5897

example, if an attachment has a Content-ID header which is

5898

necessary for the correct functioning of that attachment, it is

5899

possible that _Alpine_ may remove that header when the

5900

attachment is forwarded. However, it seems fairly safe at this

5901

time.

5902

This feature is displayed as "Suppress Content-ID".

5903

_quell-dead-letter-on-cancel_

5904

This feature affects _Alpine_'s behavior when you cancel a

5905

message being composed. _Alpine_'s usual behavior is to write

5906

the canceled message to a file named dead.letter in your home

5907

directory (under UNIX; DEADLETR under WINDOWS/DOS) overwriting

5908

any previous message. Under some conditions (some routine), this

5909

can introduce a noticeable delay.

5910

Setting this feature will cause _Alpine_ NOT to write canceled

5911

compositions into the file called dead.letter.

5912

This feature affects the newer option Dead-Letter-Files, which

5913

specifies the number of dead letter files to keep around. If

5914

this feature is set, then the Dead-Letter-Files option has no

5915

effect.

5916

This feature is displayed as "Do Not Save to Deadletter on

5917

Cancel".

5918

_quell-empty-directories_

5919

This feature causes _Alpine_ to remove from the display any

5920

directories that do not contain at least one file or directory.

5921

This can be useful to prevent overly cluttered folder lists when

5922

a collection is stored on a server that treats all names as both

5923

a folder and a directory.

5924

Note, enabling this feature can cause surprising behavior! For

5925

example, you can still use Add to create a directory, but unless

5926

you immediately enter that directory and create a folder, that

5927

newly created directory may not be displayed next time you enter

5928

the folder list.

5929

This feature is displayed as "Hide Empty Directories".

5930

_quell-extra-post-prompt_

5931

This feature causes _Alpine_ to skip the extra question about

5932

posting a message which may go to thousands of readers when you

5933

are about to post to a newsgroup.

5934

This feature is displayed as "Suppress Extra Posting Prompt".

5935

_quell-filtering-done-message_

5936

This feature causes _Alpine_ to suppress the "filtering done"

5937

message.

5938

This feature is displayed as "Suppress Filtering Done Message".

5939

_quell-filtering-messages_

5940

This feature causes _Alpine_ to suppress the messages about

5941

moving filtered messages and setting flags in messages, due to

5942

Filter Rules.

5943

This feature is displayed as "Suppress Filtering Messages".

5944

_quell-flowed-text_

5945

_Alpine_ generates flowed text where possible. The method for

5946

generating flowed text is defined by RFC 3676, the benefit of

5947

doing so is to send message text that can properly be viewed

5948

both on normal width displays and on displays with smaller or

5949

larger than normal screen widths. With flowed text, a space at

5950

the end of a line tells the receiving mail client that the

5951

following line belongs to the same paragraph. Quoted text will

5952

also be affected, with only the innermost level of ">" quoting

5953

being followed by a space. However, if you have changed the

5954

"Reply-Indent-String" so that it is not equal to the default

5955

value of "> ", then quoted text will not be flowed. For this

5956

reason, we recommend that you leave your "Reply-Indent-String"

5957

set to the default.

5958

This feature turns off the generation of flowed text, as it

5959

might be desired to more tightly control how a message is

5960

displayed on the receiving end.

5961

If this feature is _not_ set, you can control on a message by

5962

message basis whether or not flowed text is generated. You do

5963

this by typing ^V at the Send confirmation prompt that you get

5964

after typing ^X to send a message. ^V is a toggle which turns

5965

flowing off and back on if typed again. If for some reason

5966

flowing cannot be done on a particular message, then the ^V

5967

command will not be available. This would be the case, for

5968

example, if this feature was set, or if your

5969

"Reply-Indent-String" was set to a non-default value. If the

5970

feature Send-Without-Confirm is set, then the opportunity to

5971

control on a message by message basis whether or not flowed text

5972

is generated is lost.

5973

When this feature is not set and you have typed ^V to turn off

5974

flowing, the Send confirmation prompt will change to look like

5975

5976

Send message (not flowed)?

5977

Strip-Whitespace-Before-Send will also turn off the sending of

5978

flowed text messages, but it differs in that it also trims all

5979

trailing white space from a message before sending it.

5980

If alternate editors are used extensively, be aware that a

5981

message will still be sent flowed if this feature is unset. In

5982

most cases this will be fine, but if the editor has a "flowed

5983

text" mode, it would be best to use that.

5984

This feature is displayed as "Do Not Send Flowed Text".

5985

_quell-folder-internal-msg_

5986

This feature determines whether or not _Alpine_ will create

5987

"pseudo messages" in folders that are in standard Unix or MMDF

5988

format.

5989

_Alpine_ will normally create these pseudo messages when they

5990

are not already present in a standard Unix or MMDF folder. Their

5991

purpose is to record certain mailbox state data needed for

5992

correct IMAP and POP server operation, and also for _Alpine_ to

5993

be able to mark messages as Answered when the Reply has been

5994

postponed.

5995

Sites which do not use IMAP/POP for remote mail access, and

5996

which need to support mail tools that are adversely affected by

5997

the presence of the pseudo-messages (e.g. some mail notification

5998

tools) may enable this feature to tell _Alpine_ not to create

5999

them. Note that _Alpine_'s "Answered" flag capability will be

6000

adversely affected if this is done.

6001

Note too that, even if this feature is enabled, _Alpine_ will

6002

not remove pseudo-messages when it encounters them (e.g. those

6003

created by UW's imapd or ipopd servers.) This feature has no

6004

effect on folders that are not in standard Unix or MMDF format,

6005

as pseudo-messages are not needed in the other formats to record

6006

mailbox state information.

6007

This feature is displayed as "Prevent Folder Internal Message".

6008

_quell-full-header-auto-reset_

6009

The HdrMode Command normally resets to the default state when

6010

switching to a new message. For example, if you've used the "H"

6011

command to turn on Full Headers for a message you are viewing,

6012

and then you type the Next command to look at the next message,

6013

the full headers will no longer be shown. Setting this feature

6014

disables that reset. Instead, the Header Mode remains the same

6015

from message to message.

6016

The presence or absence of the HdrMode command is determined by

6017

the "Enable-Full-Header-Cmd" Feature-List option.

6018

This feature is displayed as "Suppress Full Header Auto Reset".

6019

_quell-imap-envelope-update_

6020

In the MESSAGE INDEX screen, if the open folder is being

6021

accessed using IMAP, _Alpine_ normally tries to paint the index

6022

lines on the screen as soon as the information arrives from the

6023

IMAP server. This means that the index information makes it onto

6024

the screen more quickly than it otherwise would. This sometimes

6025

results in behavior that bothers some users. For example, when

6026

paging to a new page of the index, it may be possible for the

6027

lines to be painted on the screen in a random order, rather than

6028

from top to bottom.

6029

Setting this feature causes _Alpine_ to wait for all of the

6030

information to be gathered before it paints the index screen.

6031

Once it collects all of the information, the screen will be

6032

painted quickly from top to bottom.

6033

This feature is displayed as "Suppress IMAP Envelope Update".

6034

_quell-lock-failure-warnings_

6035

This feature affects _Alpine_'s behavior when it encounters a

6036

problem acquiring a mail folder lock. Typically, a secondary

6037

file associated with the mail folder being opened is created as

6038

part of the locking process. On some systems, such file creation

6039

has been administratively precluded by the system configuration.

6040

_Alpine_ issues a warning when such failures occur, which can

6041

become bothersome if the system is configured to disallow such

6042

actions. Setting this feature causes _Alpine_ to remain silent

6043

when this part of lock creation fails.

6044

WARNING: systems that have been configured in a way that

6045

precludes locking introduce some risk of mail folder corruption

6046

when more than one program attempts to modify the mail folder.

6047

This is most likely to occur to one's _INBOX_ or other "Incoming

6048

Message Folder".

6049

This feature is displayed as "Suppress Lock Failure Warnings".

6050

_Quell-Mailchecks-Composing-Except-Inbox_

6051

This option is closely related to the Mail-Check-Interval

6052

option, the Mail-Check-Interval-Noncurrent option, and

6053

Quell-Mailchecks-Composing-Inbox.

6054

If this option is set, then the normal new-mail checking which

6055

happens while you are composing will not happen for folders

6056

other than your INBOX (which depends on the setting of

6057

"Quell-Mailchecks-Composing-Inbox").

6058

You might want to set this option if you are experiencing delays

6059

while composing which you think might be related to the speed of

6060

the new-mail checks.

6061

Even with this option turned on, an occasional new-mail check

6062

may be done in order to keep the server from killing the

6063

connection to the folder. For example, IMAP servers may remove a

6064

connection to a folder if there has been no activity on the

6065

connection for 30 minutes or more. Instead of letting that

6066

happen, _Alpine_ will check for new mail before the 30 minutes

6067

is up even though you have turned on this feature to quell those

6068

checks.

6069

Besides new-mail checks, checkpoint operations on the folders

6070

will also be quelled when you set this option. The purpose of

6071

checkpointing is to write the changes to a folder out to disk

6072

periodically in order to avoid losing those changes when system

6073

or software problems occur. New-mail checking and checkpointing

6074

while you are not composing are not affected by this option.

6075

This feature is displayed as "Prevent Mailchecks While Composing

6076

Except for INBOX".

6077

_Quell-Mailchecks-Composing-Inbox_

6078

This option is closely related to the Mail-Check-Interval

6079

option, the Mail-Check-Interval-Noncurrent option, and

6080

Quell-Mailchecks-Composing-Except-Inbox.

6081

If this option is set, then the normal new-mail checking which

6082

happens while you are composing will not happen for your INBOX.

6083

Checking of other folders is controlled in a similar way with

6084

the "Quell-Mailchecks-Composing-Except-Inbox" option.

6085

You might want to set this option if you are experiencing delays

6086

while composing which you think might be related to the speed of

6087

the new-mail checks.

6088

Even with this option turned on, an occasional new-mail check

6089

may be done in order to keep the server from killing the

6090

connection to the folder. For example, IMAP servers may remove a

6091

connection to a folder if there has been no activity on the

6092

connection for 30 minutes or more. Instead of letting that

6093

happen, _Alpine_ will check for new mail before the 30 minutes

6094

is up even though you have turned on this feature to quell those

6095

checks.

6096

Besides new-mail checks, checkpoint operations on the INBOX will

6097

also be quelled when you set this option. The purpose of

6098

checkpointing is to write the changes to a folder out to disk

6099

periodically in order to avoid losing those changes when system

6100

or software problems occur. New-mail checking and checkpointing

6101

while you are not composing are not affected by this option.

6102

This feature is displayed as "Prevent Mailchecks While Composing

6103

for INBOX".

6104

_quell-maildomain-warning_

6105

When your configuration is set up so that your domain name

6106

contains no dots, it is usually a configuration error. By

6107

default, _Alpine_ will warn you about this when you start it up.

6108

You will see a warning message that looks like

6109

6110

Incomplete maildomain "<domain>".

6111

If this feature is set, the warning is turned off. This feature

6112

is displayed as "Suppress Maildomain Warning".

6113

_quell-news-envelope-update_

6114

In the MESSAGE INDEX screen, if the open folder is being

6115

accessed using NNTP (News), _Alpine_ normally tries to paint the

6116

index lines on the screen as soon as the information arrives

6117

from the NNTP server. This means that the index information

6118

makes it onto the screen more quickly than it otherwise would.

6119

This sometimes results in behavior that bothers some users. For

6120

example, when paging to a new page of the index, it may be

6121

possible for the lines to be painted on the screen in a random

6122

order, rather than from top to bottom.

6123

Setting this feature causes _Alpine_ to wait for all of the

6124

information to be gathered before it paints the index screen.

6125

Once it collects all of the information, the screen will be

6126

painted quickly from top to bottom.

6127

This feature is displayed as "Suppress News Envelope Update".

6128

_quell-partial-fetching_

6129

Partial fetching is a feature of the IMAP protocol. By default,

6130

_Alpine_ will use partial fetching when copying the contents of a

6131

message or attachment from the IMAP server to _Alpine_. This

6132

means that the fetch will be done in many small chunks instead

6133

of one big chunk. The main benefit of this approach is that the

6134

fetch becomes interruptible. That is, the user can type _^C_ to

6135

stop the fetch early. In some cases partial fetching may cause a

6136

performance problem so that the fetching of data takes

6137

significantly longer when partial fetching is used. Turning on

6138

this feature will turn off partial fetching.

6139

This feature is displayed as "Prevent Partial Fetching".

6140

_quell-personal-name-prompt_

6141

_PC-Alpine_ only. This feature quells the prompting for a

6142

personal-name. This prompt normally happens before composing a

6143

message, and only happens when there is no personal name already

6144

set.

6145

_quell-server-after-link-in-html_

6146

By default, links in HTML text are displayed with the host the

6147

link references appended, within square brackets, to the link

6148

text. _Alpine_ does this to help indicate where a link will take

6149

you, particularly when the link text might suggest a different

6150

destination.

6151

Setting this feature will prevent the server name from being

6152

appended to the displayed text.

6153

This feature is displayed as "Suppress Server After Link in

6154

HTML".

6155

_quell-ssl-largeblocks_

6156

This feature (_PC-Alpine_ only) changes the behavior of fetching

6157

messages and attachments so that the message data is fetched in

6158

chunks no larger than 12K bytes. This works around a bug in

6159

Microsoft's SSL/TLS support. Some versions of Microsoft SSL are

6160

not able to read full-sized (16K) SSL/TLS packets. Some servers

6161

will send such packets and this will cause _PC-Alpine_ to crash

6162

with the error

6163

6164

incomplete SecBuffer exceeds maximum buffer size

6165

Microsoft is aware of the problem and has developed a hotfix for

6166

it, but as of this writing the hotfix has not yet been added to

6167

the Knowledge Base.

6168

This feature is displayed as "Prevent SSL Largeblocks".

6169

_quell-status-message-beeping_

6170

If set status messages will never emit a beep.

6171

This feature is displayed as "Suppress Status Message Beeping".

6172

_quell-timezone-comment-when-sending_

6173

Normally, when _Alpine_ generates a Date header for outgoing

6174

mail, it will try to include the symbolic timezone at the end of

6175

the header inside parentheses. The symbolic timezone is often

6176

three characters long, but on some operating systems, it may be

6177

longer. Apparently there are some SMTP servers in the world

6178

which will reject an incoming message if it has a Date header

6179

longer than about 80 characters. If this feature is set, the

6180

symbolic timezone normally generated by _Alpine_ will not be

6181

included. You probably don't need to worry about this feature

6182

unless you run into the problem described above.

6183

This feature is displayed as "Suppress Timezone Comment When

6184

Sending".

6185

_quell-user-id-prompt_

6186

_PC-Alpine_ only. This feature quells the prompting for a

6187

user-id if the information can be obtained from the login name

6188

used to open the INBOX. Normally, this prompt happens before

6189

composing a message, and only happens when there is no user-id

6190

already set in the configuration.

6191

With this feature set, composing a message is only possible

6192

after establishing a connection to the INBOX.

6193

_quell-user-lookup-in-passwd-file_

6194

This feature controls an aspect of _Alpine_'s Composer, and if

6195

needed, will usually be set by the system manager in _Alpine_'s

6196

system-wide configuration file. Specifically, if this feature is

6197

set, _Alpine_ will not attempt to look in the system password

6198

file to find a Full Name for the entered address.

6199

Normally, names you enter into address fields (e.g. To: or Cc:)

6200

are checked against your address book(s) to see if they match an

6201

address book nickname. Failing that, (in Unix _Alpine_) the name

6202

is then checked against the Unix password file. If the entered

6203

name matches a username in the system password file, _Alpine_

6204

extracts the corresponding Full Name information for that

6205

individual, and adds that to the address being entered.

6206

However, password file matching can have surprising (incorrect)

6207

results if other users of the system do not receive mail at the

6208

domain you are using. That is, if either the user-domain or

6209

use-only-domain-name option is set such that the administrative

6210

domain of other users on the system isn't accurately reflected,

6211

_Alpine_ should be told that a password file match is

6212

coincidental, and Full Name info will be incorrect. For example,

6213

a personal name from the password file could get falsely paired

6214

with the entered name as it is turned into an address in the

6215

configured domain.

6216

If you are seeing this behavior, enabling this feature will

6217

prevent Unix _Alpine_ from looking up names in the password file

6218

to find the Full Name for incomplete addresses you enter.

6219

This feature is displayed as "Prevent User Lookup in Password

6220

File".

6221

_quit-without-confirm_

6222

This feature controls whether or not _Alpine_ will ask for

6223

confirmation when a _Quit_ command is received.

6224

This feature is displayed as "Quit Without Confirming".

6225

_quote-replace-nonflowed_

6226

This feature, which is only active when Quote-Replace-String is

6227

also set, enables quote-replacement on non-flowed messages. It

6228

is off by default because a non-flowed message is more dependent

6229

on its format, and thus quote-replacement may cause

6230

less-than-pleasing results. Setting this feature will cause

6231

quote-replacement similar to that of flowed messages, but with

6232

the added possibility of long lines being wrapped into new lines

6233

if the Quote-Replacement-String is longer than the string it is

6234

replacing, which is "> ".

6235

_reply-always-uses-reply-to_

6236

If set, _Alpine_ will not prompt when a message being replied to

6237

contains a _Reply-To:_ header value, but will simply use its

6238

value (as opposed to using the _From:_ field's value).

6239

_return-to-inbox-without-confirm_

6240

Normally, when you use the TAB command and there are no more

6241

folders or newsgroups to visit, you are asked if you want to

6242

return to the INBOX. If this feature is set you will not be

6243

asked. It will be assumed that you do want to return to the

6244

INBOX.

6245

This feature is displayed as "Return to INBOX Without

6246

Confirming".

6247

_save-aggregates-copy-sequence_

6248

This feature will optimize an aggregate copy operation, if

6249

possible, by issuing a single IMAP _COPY_ command with a list of

6250

the messages to be copied. This feature is set by default. This

6251

may reduce network traffic and elapsed time for the Save.

6252

_However, many IMAP servers (including the UW IMAP server) do not

6253

preserve the order of messages when this optimization is

6254

applied._ If this feature is not set, _Alpine_ will copy each

6255

message individually and the order of the messages will be

6256

preserved.

6257

This feature is displayed as "Save Combines Copies (may be out

6258

of order)".

6259

_save-partial-msg-without-confirm_

6260

This feature controls an aspect of _Alpine_'s Save command. By

6261

default, when you Save a message that has some deleted parts,

6262

you will be asked to confirm that you want to Save with a prompt

6263

that looks like:

6264

6265

Saved copy will NOT include entire message! Continue?

6266

If this feature is set, you will not be asked.

6267

This feature is displayed as "Save Partial Message Without

6268

Confirming".

6269

_save-will-advance_

6270

If set, _Save_ will (in addition to copying the current message

6271

to the designated folder) also advance to the next message.

6272

_save-will-not-delete_

6273

If set, _Save_ will not mark the message Deleted (its default

6274

behavior) after it has been copied to the designated folder.

6275

_save-will-quote-leading-froms_

6276

This feature controls an aspect of the _Save_ command (and also

6277

the way outgoing messages are saved to an FCC folder). If set,

6278

_Alpine_ will add a leading > character in front of message lines

6279

beginning with "From" when they are saved to another folder,

6280

including lines syntactically distinguishable from the type of

6281

message separator line commonly used on Unix systems.

6282

The default behavior is that a > will be prepended only to lines

6283

beginning with "From " that might otherwise be confused with a

6284

message separator line on Unix systems. If _Alpine_ is the only

6285

mail program you use, this default is reasonable. If another

6286

program you use has trouble displaying a message with an

6287

unquoted From saved by _Alpine_, you should enable this feature.

6288

This feature only applies to the common Unix mailbox format that

6289

uses message separator lines beginning with "From ". If _Alpine_

6290

has been configured to use a different mailbox format (possibly

6291

incompatible with other mail programs), then this issue does not

6292

arise, and the feature is irrelevant.

6293

_scramble-message-id_

6294

Normally the Message-ID header that _Alpine_ generates when

6295

sending a message contains the name of the computer from which

6296

the message is being sent. Some believe that this hostname could

6297

be used by spammers or could be used by others for nefarious

6298

purposes. If this feature is set, that name will be transformed

6299

with a simple Rot13 transformation. The result will still have

6300

the correct syntax for a Message-ID but the part of the

6301

MessageID that is often a domain name will not be an actual

6302

domain name because the letters will be scrambled.

6303

It is possible (but unlikely?) that some spam detection software

6304

will use that as a reason to reject the mail as spam. It has

6305

also been reported that some spam detection software uses the

6306

fact that there are no dots after the "@" as a reason to reject

6307

messages. If your _PC-Alpine_ Message-ID is using a name without

6308

a dot that is because that is what Windows thinks is your "Full

6309

computer name". The method used to set this varies from one type

6310

of Windows to another but check under Settings -> Control Panel

6311

-> System and look for Network Identification or Computer Name

6312

or something similar. How to set it is beyond the scope of

6313

_Alpine_.

6314

This feature is displayed as "Scramble the Message-ID When

6315

Sending".

6316

_select-without-confirm_

6317

This feature controls an aspect of _Alpine_'s _Save_, _Export_,

6318

and _Goto_ commands. These commands all take text input to

6319

specify the name of the folder or file to be used, but allow you

6320

to press _^T_ for a list of possible names. If set, the selected

6321

name will be used immediately, without further opportunity to

6322

confirm or edit the name.

6323

This feature is displayed as "Select Ctrl-T Foldername Without

6324

Confirming".

6325

_send-without-confirm_

6326

By default, when you send or post a message you will be asked to

6327

confirm with a question that looks something like:

6328

6329

Send message?

6330

If this feature is set, you will _not_ be prompted to confirm

6331

your intent to send and your message will be sent.

6332

If this feature is set it disables some possibilities and

6333

renders some other features meaningless. You will not be able to

6334

use Sending Filters, Verbose sending mode, Background Sending,

6335

Delivery Status Notifications, or ^V to turn off the generation

6336

of flowed text for this message. These options are normally

6337

available as suboptions in the Send prompt, but with no Send

6338

prompt the options are gone.

6339

A somewhat related feature is quell-extra-post-prompt. which may

6340

be used to eliminate the extra confirmation question when

6341

posting to a newsgroup.

6342

This feature is displayed as "Send Without Confirming".

6343

_separate-folder-and-directory-display_

6344

This feature affects folder collections wherein a folder and

6345

directory can have the same name. By default, _Alpine_ displays

6346

them only once, denoting that it is both a folder and directory

6347

by appending the folder name with the hierarchy character

6348

enclosed in square brackets.

6349

Enabling this feature will cause _Alpine_ to display such names

6350

separately marking the name representing a directory with a

6351

trailing hierarchy delimiter (typically the slash, "/",

6352

character).

6353

The feature also alters the command set slightly. By default,

6354

the right-arrow descends into the directory, while hitting the

6355

Return key will cause the folder by that name to be opened.

6356

With this feature set, the Return key will open the highlighted

6357

folder, or enter the highlighted directory.

6358

_show-cursor_

6359

If set, the system cursor will move to convenient locations in

6360

the displays. For example, to the beginning of the status field

6361

of the highlighted index line, or to the highlighted word after

6362

a successful _WhereIs_ command. It is intended to draw your

6363

attention to the _interesting_ spot on the screen.

6364

_show-plain-text-internally_

6365

This feature modifies the method _Alpine_ uses to display

6366

Text/Plain MIME attachments from the Attachment Index screen.

6367

Normally, the "View" command searches for any externally defined

6368

(usually via the Mailcap file) viewer, and displays the selected

6369

text within that viewer.

6370

Enabling this feature causes _Alpine_ to ignore any external

6371

viewer settings and always display text with _Alpine_'s internal

6372

viewer.

6373

_show-selected-in-boldface_

6374

This feature controls an aspect of _Alpine_'s aggregate

6375

operation commands; in particular, the _Select_ and _WhereIs_

6376

commands. _Select_ and _WhereIs_ (with the _^X_ subcommand) will

6377

search the current folder for messages meeting a specified

6378

criteria, and _tag_ the resulting messages with an _X_ in the

6379

first column of the applicable lines in the "Folder Index". If

6380

this feature is set, instead of using the _X_ to denote a

6381

selected message, _Alpine_ will attempt to display those index

6382

lines in boldface. Whether this is preferable to the _X_ will

6383

depend on personal taste and the type of terminal being used.

6384

_show-sort_

6385

If this feature is set and there is sufficient space on the

6386

screen, a short indication of the current sort order will be

6387

added in the titlebar (the top line on the screen), before the

6388

name of the folder. For example, with the default Arrival sort

6389

in effect, the display would have the characters

6390

6391

[A]

6392

added between the title of the screen and the folder name. The

6393

letters are the same as the letters you may type to manually

6394

sort a folder with the SortIndex command ($). The letters in the

6395

table below are the ones that may show up in the titlebar line.

6396

6397

A _A_rrival

6398

S _S_ubject

6399

F _F_rom

6400

T _T_o

6401

C _C_c

6402

D _D_ate

6403

Z si_Z_e

6404

O _O_rderedsubject

6405

E scor_E_

6406

H t_H_read

6407

If the sort order is Reversed, the letter above will be preceded

6408

by the letter "R", for example

6409

6410

[RS]

6411

means that a Reverse Subject sort is in effect. For the case

6412

where the sort is in Reverse Arrival order, the "A" is left out,

6413

and just an "R" is shown.

6414

6415

[R]

6416

This feature is displayed as "Show Sort in Titlebar".

6417

_signature-at-bottom_

6418

If this feature is set, and a message being _Repl_ied to is

6419

being included in the reply, then the contents of the signature

6420

file (if any) will be inserted after the included message. This

6421

feature does not affect the results of a _Forward_ command.

6422

_single-column-folder-list_

6423

If set, the "Folder List" screen will list one folder per line

6424

instead of several per line.

6425

_slash-collapses-entire-thread_

6426

Normally, the Collapse/Expand Thread command Collapses or

6427

Expands the subthread which starts at the currently highlighted

6428

message, if any. If this feature is set, then the slash command

6429

Collapses or Expands the _entire_ current thread instead of just

6430

the subthread.

6431

_smime-dont-do-smime_

6432

UNIX _Alpine_ only.

6433

Setting this feature turns off all of _Alpine_'s S/MIME support.

6434

You might want to set this if you are having trouble due to the

6435

S/MIME support.

6436

+ General S/MIME Overview

6437

This feature is displayed as "S/MIME -- Turn off S/MIME".

6438

_smime-encrypt-by-default_

6439

UNIX _Alpine_ only.

6440

This feature only has an effect if your version of _Alpine_

6441

includes support for S/MIME. It affects _Alpine_'s behavior when

6442

you send a message. If this option is set, the "Encrypt" option

6443

will default to ON when sending messages.

6444

Only the default value is affected. In any case, you may still

6445

toggle the Encrypt option on or off before sending with the "E

6446

Encrypt" command (provided you have a the public digital ID for

6447

the recipient).

6448

+ General S/MIME Overview

6449

This feature is displayed as "S/MIME -- Encrypt by Default".

6450

_smime-remember-passphrase_

6451

UNIX _Alpine_ only.

6452

This feature only has an effect if your version of _Alpine_

6453

includes support for S/MIME. If this option is set, you will

6454

only have to enter your passphrase for your private key once

6455

during an _Alpine_ session.

6456

+ General S/MIME Overview

6457

This feature is displayed as "S/MIME -- Remember S/MIME

6458

Passphrase".

6459

_smime-sign-by-default_

6460

UNIX _Alpine_ only.

6461

This feature only has an effect if your version of _Alpine_

6462

includes support for S/MIME. It affects _Alpine_'s behavior when

6463

you send a message. If this option is set, the "Sign" option

6464

will default to ON when sending messages.

6465

Only the default value is affected. In any case, you may still

6466

toggle the Signing option on or off before sending with the "G

6467

Sign" command (provided you have a personal digital ID

6468

certificate).

6469

+ General S/MIME Overview

6470

This feature is displayed as "S/MIME -- Sign by Default".

6471

_sort-default-fcc-alpha_

6472

This feature controls an aspect of _Alpine_'s FOLDER LIST

6473

screen. If set, the default FCC folder will be sorted

6474

alphabetically with the other folders instead of appearing right

6475

after the INBOX.

6476

This feature is displayed as "Sort Default Fcc Folder

6477

Alphabetically".

6478

_sort-default-save-alpha_

6479

This feature controls an aspect of _Alpine_'s FOLDER LIST

6480

screen. If set, the default save folder will be sorted

6481

alphabetically with the other folders instead of appearing right

6482

after the INBOX (and default FCC folder).

6483

This feature is displayed as "Sort Default Save Folder

6484

Alphabetically".

6485

_spell-check-before-sending_

6486

When this feature is set, every composed message will be

6487

spell-checked before being sent.

6488

_store-window-position-in-config_

6489

Normally, _PC-Alpine_ will store its window size and position in

6490

the Windows Registry. This is convenient if you want to use the

6491

same remote configuration from more than one PC. If you use

6492

multiple configuration files to start _PC-Alpine_, you may want

6493

to store the window size and position in the configuration file

6494

instead of in the Registry. Setting this feature causes that to

6495

happen.

6496

_strip-from-sigdashes-on-reply_

6497

This feature doesn't do anything if the feature enable-sigdashes

6498

is turned on. However, if the _enable-sigdashes_ feature is not

6499

turned on, then turning on this feature enables support for the

6500

convention of not including text beyond the sigdashes line when

6501

Replying or Following up to a message and including the text of

6502

that message.

6503

In other words, this is a way to turn on the signature stripping

6504

behavior without also turning on the dashes-adding behavior.

6505

_strip-whitespace-before=send_

6506

Trailing whitespace is not stripped from a message before

6507

sending. Trailing whitespace should have no effect on an email

6508

message, and in flowed text can aid in delimiting paragraphs.

6509

However, the old behavior of stripping trailing whitespace was

6510

in place to better deal with older clients that couldn't handle

6511

certain types of text encodings. This feature restores the old

6512

behavior

6513

Trailing whitespace is of aid to flowed-text-formatted messages,

6514

which are generated by default but can be turned off via the

6515

quell-flowed-text feature. strip-whitespace-before-send also has

6516

the effect of turning off sending of flowed text.

6517

This feature is displayed as "Strip Whitespace Before Sending".

6518

_suppress-asterisks-in-password-prompt_

6519

When you are running _Alpine_ you will sometimes be asked for a

6520

password in a prompt on the third line from the bottom of the

6521

screen. Normally each password character you type will cause an

6522

asterisk to echo on the screen. That gives you some feedback to

6523

know that your typing is being recognized. There is a very

6524

slight security risk in doing it this way because someone

6525

watching over your shoulder might be able to see how many

6526

characters there are in your password. If you'd like to suppress

6527

the echoing of the asterisks set this feature.

6528

_suppress-user-agent-when-sending_

6529

If this feature is set then _Alpine_ will not generate a

6530

User-Agent header in outgoing messages.

6531

_tab-checks-recent_

6532

In a FOLDER LIST screen, the TAB key usually just changes which

6533

folder is highlighted. If this feature is set, then the TAB key

6534

will cause the number of recent messages and the total number of

6535

messages in the highlighted folder to be displayed instead.

6536

This feature is displayed as "Tab Checks for Recent Messages".

6537

_tab-uses-unseen-for-next-folder_

6538

This feature affects _Alpine_'s behavior when using the TAB

6539

NextNew Command to move from one folder to the next. _Alpine_'s

6540

usual behavior is to search for folders with _Recent_ messages

6541

in them. Recent messages are messages which have arrived since

6542

the last time the folder was opened.

6543

Setting this feature causes _Alpine_ to search for _Unseen_

6544

messages instead of Recent messages. Unseen messages remain

6545

Unseen until you view them (or flag then as Seen with the Flag

6546

Command). Setting this feature allows you to locate messages you

6547

have not read instead of only recently received messages. When

6548

this feature is set, the feature Enable-Fast-Recent-Test will

6549

have no effect, so the checking may be slower.

6550

Another reason why you might want to use this feature is that

6551

_Alpine_ sometimes opens folders implicitly behind the scenes,

6552

and this clears the Recent status of all messages in the folder.

6553

One example where this happens is when Saving or filtering a

6554

message to another folder. If that message has some keywords

6555

set, then because of some shortcomings in the IMAP

6556

specification, the best way to ensure that those keywords are

6557

still set in the saved copy of the message is to open the folder

6558

and set the keywords explicitly. Because this clears the Recent

6559

status of all messages in that folder the folder will not be

6560

found by the NextNew command unless this feature is set.

6561

_tab-visits-next-new-message-only_

6562

This feature affects _Alpine_'s behavior when using the _TAB_

6563

key to move from one message to the next. _Alpine_'s usual

6564

behavior is to select the next _Unread_ message or message

6565

flagged as _Important_.

6566

Setting this feature causes _Alpine_ to skip the messages

6567

flagged as _Important_, and select _Unread_ messages

6568

exclusively. Tab behavior when there are no new messages left to

6569

select remains unchanged.

6570

_termdef-takes-precedence_

6571

This feature may affect _Alpine_'s low-level input routines.

6572

Termcap (or terminfo, depending on how your copy of _Alpine_ was

6573

compiled and linked) is the name of the database which describes

6574

terminal capabilities. In particular, it describes the sequences

6575

of characters that various keys will emit.

6576

An example would be the Up Arrow key on the keyboard. Up Arrow

6577

is not a distinct character on most Unix systems. When you press

6578

the Up Arrow key a short sequence of characters are produced.

6579

This sequence is supposed to be described in the termcap

6580

database by the "ku" capability (or by the "kcuu1" capability if

6581

you are using terminfo instead of termcap).

6582

By default, _Alpine_ defines some terminal escape sequences that

6583

are commonly used. For example, the sequence "ESC O A" is

6584

recognized as an Up Arrow key. The sequence "ESC [ A" is also

6585

recognized as an Up Arrow key. These are chosen because common

6586

terminals like VT100's or ANSI standard terminals produce these

6587

sequences when you press the Up Arrow key.

6588

If your system's termcap (terminfo) database assigns some other

6589

function to the sequence "ESC O A" it is usually ignored by

6590

_Alpine_. Also, if your termcap (terminfo) database assigns a

6591

sequence which doesn't begin with an escape character (ESC) it

6592

is usually ignored by _Alpine_. This usually works fine because

6593

most terminals emit the escape sequences that _Alpine_ has

6594

defined by default. We have also found that it is usually better

6595

to have these defaults take precedence over the definitions

6596

contained in the database because the defaults are more likely

6597

to be correct than the database.

6598

There are some terminals where this breaks down. If you want

6599

_Alpine_ to believe the definitions given in your termcap

6600

(terminfo) database in preference to the defaults the _Alpine_

6601

itself sets up, then you may turn this feature on. Then,

6602

sequences of characters which are defined in both termcap

6603

(terminfo) and in _Alpine_'s set of defaults will be interpreted

6604

the way that termcap (terminfo) says they should be interpreted.

6605

Also, if your terminal capabilities database assigns a sequence

6606

which doesn't begin with escape, it will not be ignored.

6607

_thread-index-shows-important-color_

6608

This option affects only the THREAD INDEX screen. Whether or not

6609

you ever see a THREAD INDEX screen depends on the setting of the

6610

configuration option threading-index-style and on the sort order

6611

of the index. If a message within a thread is flagged as

6612

Important and this option is set, then the entire line in the

6613

THREAD INDEX will be colored the color of the Index-important

6614

Symbol, which can be set using the Setup Kolor screen.

6615

_try-alternative-authentication-driver-first_

6616

This feature affects how _Alpine_ connects to IMAP servers. It's

6617

utility has largely been overtaken by events, but it may still

6618

be useful in some circumstances. If you only connect to modern

6619

IMAP servers that support "TLS" you can ignore this feature.

6620

Details:

6621

By default, _Alpine_ will attempt to connect to an IMAP server

6622

on the normal IMAP service port (143), and if the server offers

6623

"Transport Layer Security" (TLS) and _Alpine_ has been compiled

6624

with encryption capability, then a secure (encrypted) session

6625

will be negotiated.

6626

With this feature enabled, before connecting on the normal IMAP

6627

port, _Alpine_ will first attempt to connect to an alternate

6628

IMAP service port (993) used specifically for encrypted IMAP

6629

sessions via the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) method. If the SSL

6630

attempt fails, _Alpine_ will then try the default behavior

6631

described in the previous paragraph.

6632

TLS negotiation on the normal port is preferred, and supersedes

6633

the use of SSL on port 993, but older servers may not provide

6634

TLS support. This feature may be convenient when accessing IMAP

6635

servers that do not support TLS, but do support SSL connections

6636

on port 993. However, it is important to understand that with

6637

this feature enabled, _Alpine_ will _attempt_ to make a secure

6638

connection if that is possible, but it will proceed to make an

6639

insecure connection if that is the only option offered by the

6640

server, or if the _Alpine_ in question has been built without

6641

encryption capability.

6642

Note that this feature specifies a per-user (or system-wide)

6643

default behavior, but host/folder specification flags may be

6644

used to control the behavior of any specific connection. This

6645

feature interacts with some of the possible host/folder path

6646

specification flags as follows:

6647

The /tls host flag, for example,

6648

6649

{foo.example.com/tls}INBOX

6650

will over-ride this feature for the specified host by bypassing

6651

the SSL connection attempt. Moreover, with /tls specified, the

6652

connection attempt will fail if the service on port 143 does not

6653

offer TLS support.

6654

The /ssl host flag, for example,

6655

6656

{foo.example.com/ssl}INBOX

6657

will insist on an SSL connection for the specified host, and

6658

will fail if the SSL service on port 993 is not available.

6659

_Alpine_ will not subsequently retry a connection on port 143 if

6660

/ssl is specified.

6661

_unselect-will-not-advance_

6662

Normally, when the Unselect current message command (:) is typed

6663

when the current message is selected, the message will be

6664

unselected and the next message will become the current message.

6665

If this feature is set, the cursor will not advance to the next

6666

message. Instead, the current message will remain the current

6667

message after unselecting.

6668

_use-current-dir_

6669

This feature controls an aspect of several commands. If set,

6670

your "current working directory" will be used instead of your

6671

home directory for all of the following operations:

6672

+ _Export_ in the "Folder Index" and "Message Text" screens

6673

+ Attachment _Save_ in the "Message Text" and "Attachment Text"

6674

screens

6675

+ _^R_ file inclusion in the Composer

6676

+ _^J_ file attachment in the Composer

6677

This feature is displayed as "Use Current Directory".

6678

_use-function-keys_

6679

This feature specifies that _Alpine_ will respond to function

6680

keys instead of the normal single-letter commands. In this mode,

6681

the key menus at the bottom of each screen will show function

6682

key designations instead of the normal mnemonic key.

6683

_use-regular-startup-rule-for-stayopen-folders_

6684

This feature affects which message is selected as the current

6685

message when you enter a Stay Open folder.

6686

Normally, the starting position for an incoming folder (which

6687

most Stay Open folders will likely be) is controlled by the

6688

Incoming-Startup-Rule. However, if a folder is a Stay Open

6689

folder, when you re-enter the folder after the first time the

6690

current message will be the same as it was when you left the

6691

folder. An exception is made if you use the TAB command to get

6692

to the folder. In that case, the message number will be

6693

incremented by one from what it was when you left the folder.

6694

The above special behavior is thought to be useful. However, it

6695

is special and different from what you might at first expect. If

6696

this feature is set, then Stay Open folders will not be treated

6697

specially as far as the startup rule is concerned.

6698

_use-resent-to-in-rules_

6699

This feature is turned off by default because turning it on

6700

causes problems with some deficient IMAP servers. In _Alpine_

6701

Filters and other types of Rules, if the Pattern contains a To

6702

header pattern and this feature is turned on, then a check is

6703

made in the message to see if a Resent-To header is present, and

6704

that is used instead of the To header. If this feature is not

6705

turned on, then the regular To header will always be used.

6706

_use-sender-not-x-sender_

6707

Normally _Alpine_ on Unix adds a header line labeled

6708

_X-X-Sender_, if the sender is different from the _From:_ line.

6709

The standard specifies that this header line should be labeled

6710

_Sender_, not _X-X-Sender_. Setting this feature causes _Sender_

6711

to be used instead of _X-X-Sender_. The standard also states

6712

that the data associated with this header field should not be

6713

used as a Reply address. Unfortunately, certain implementations

6714

of mail list management servers will use the Sender address for

6715

such purposes. These implementations often even recognize the

6716

_X-Sender_ fields as being equivalent to the _Sender_ field, and

6717

use it if present. This is why _Alpine_ defaults to

6718

_X-X-Sender_.

6719

Note, _PC-Alpine_ always adds either an _X-X-Sender_ line if

6720

there is an open, remote mailbox, or an _X-Warning:

6721

UNAuthenticated User_ otherwise

6722

This feature is displayed as "Use Sender Instead of X-X-Sender".

6723

_use-subshell-for-suspend_

6724

This feature affects _Alpine_'s behavior when process suspension

6725

is enabled and then activated via the _^Z_ key. _Alpine_

6726

suspension allows one to temporarily interact with the operating

6727

system command "shell" without quitting _Alpine_, and then

6728

subsequently resume the still-active _Alpine_ session.

6729

When the _enable-suspend_ feature is set and subsequently the

6730

_^Z_ key is pressed, _Alpine_ will normally suspend itself and

6731

return temporary control to _Alpine_'s parent shell process.

6732

However, if this feature is set, _Alpine_ will instead create an

6733

inferior subshell process. This is useful when the parent

6734

process is not intended to be used interactively. Examples

6735

include invoking _Alpine_ via the -e argument of the Unix _xterm_

6736

program, or via a menu system.

6737

Note that one typically resumes a suspended _Alpine_ by entering

6738

the Unix _fg_ command, but if this feature is set, it will be

6739

necessary to enter the _exit_ command instead.

6740

_use-system-translation_

6741

UNIX _Alpine_ only. _Alpine_ normally uses its own internal

6742

software to convert between the multi-byte representation of

6743

characters and the Unicode representation of those same

6744

characters ( see the section on International Character Sets).

6745

It converts from the multi-byte characters your keyboard

6746

produces to Unicode, and from Unicode to the multi-byte

6747

characters your display expects. Alpine also uses its own

6748

internal software to decide how much space on the screen a

6749

particular Unicode character will occupy.

6750

Setting this feature tells _Alpine_ to use the system-supplied

6751

routines to perform these tasks instead. In particular there are

6752

three tasks and three system routines that will be used for

6753

these tasks.

6754

To convert from multi-byte to Unicode the routine

6755

6756

mbstowcs

6757

is used. To convert from Unicode to multi-byte the routine

6758

6759

wcrtomb

6760

is used. And to find the screen width a particular Unicode

6761

character will occupy the routine used is

6762

6763

wcwidth

6764

This feature has been only lightly tested. The internal routines

6765

should normally be used unless you run into a problem that you

6766

think may be solved by using the system routines. Note that your

6767

environment needs to be set up for these routines to work

6768

correctly. In particular, the LANG or LC_CTYPE variable in your

6769

environment will need to be set.

6770

_vertical-folder-list_

6771

This feature controls an aspect of _Alpine_'s FOLDER LIST

6772

screen. If set, the folders will be listed alphabetically down

6773

the columns rather than across the columns as is the default.

6774

This feature is displayed as "Use Vertical Folder List".

6775

_warn-if-blank-subject_

6776

This feature affects _Alpine_'s behavior when you send a message

6777

being composed. If this option is set, _Alpine_ will check to

6778

see if the message about to be sent has a subject or not. If

6779

not, you will be asked if you want to send the message anyway.

6780

_warn-if-blank-to-and-cc-and-newsgroups_

6781

This feature affects _Alpine_'s behavior when you send a message

6782

being composed. If this option is set, _Alpine_ will check to

6783

see if the message about to be sent has either a To address, a

6784

Cc address, or a Newsgroup. If none of these is set, you will be

6785

asked if you want to send the message anyway.

6786

This feature is closely related to fcc-only-without-confirm.

6787

_Alpine_ will normally ask if you want to copy a message only to

6788

the Fcc. This feature also applies to cases where there is a Bcc

6789

but still no To, Cc, or Newsgroup. If the

6790

Fcc-Only-Without-Confirm feature is set and you are sending a

6791

message with only an Fcc, then you won't be asked about sending

6792

with a blank To and Cc and Newsgroups header even if this

6793

feature is set. Similarly, if you have already been asked if you

6794

want to send to the Fcc only and you have answered Yes, then you

6795

won't be asked again about sending with blank To, Cc, and

6796

Newsgroups headers even if this feature is set.

6797

6798

Hidden Config Variables and Features

6799

6800

There are several configuration variables and features which are

6801

normally hidden from the user. That is, they don't appear on any of the

6802

configuration screens. Some of these are suppressed because they are

6803

intended to be used by system administrators, and in fact may only be

6804

set in system-wide configuration files. Others are available to users

6805

but are thought to be of such little value to most users that their

6806

presence on the Config screens would cause more confusion than help.

6807

Others are hidden in the Setup/Config screen because they are normally

6808

configured in one of the other configuration screens. For example, all

6809

of the colors are hidden because the normal way to configure colors is

6810

through Setup/Colors not Setup/Config. You may set the feature

6811

expose-hidden-config to cause most of these hidden variables and

6812

features to show up at the bottom of the Setup/Config screen.

6813

6814

Hidden Variables Not Settable by Users

6815

6816

These variables are settable only in system-wide configuration files.

6817

* bugs-additional-data

6818

* bugs-address

6819

* bugs-fullname

6820

* forced-abook-entry

6821

* kblock-passwd-count

6822

* local-address

6823

* local-fullname

6824

* mail-directory

6825

* standard-printer

6826

* suggest-address

6827

* suggest-fullname

6828

6829

Hidden Variables Which are Settable by Users

6830

6831

These variables are not shown to users but are settable by means of

6832

hand editing the personal configuration file. This first group is

6833

usually maintained by _Alpine_ and there will usually be no reason to

6834

edit them by hand.

6835

* last-version-used

6836

* patterns-filters2

6837

* patterns-indexcolors

6838

* patterns-roles

6839

* patterns-scores2

6840

* remote-abook-metafile

6841

6842

This group is usually correct but may be changed by system managers or

6843

users in special cases.

6844

* disable-these-authenticators

6845

* disable-these-drivers

6846

* last-time-prune-questioned

6847

* new-version-threshold

6848

* remote-abook-history

6849

* remote-abook-validity

6850

* rsh-command

6851

* rsh-open-timeout

6852

* rsh-path

6853

* sendmail-path

6854

* ssh-command

6855

* ssh-open-timeout

6856

* ssh-path

6857

* tcp-open-timeout

6858

* tcp-query-timeout

6859

* tcp-read-warning-timeout

6860

* tcp-write-warning-timeout

6861

* use-function-keys

6862

6863

System managers are usually interested in setting these in the

6864

system-wide configuration files, though users may set them if they

6865

wish.

6866

* operating-dir

6867

* user-input-timeout

6868

6869

Hidden Features Which are Settable by Users

6870

6871

These are _features_ (as opposed to variables) which users or system

6872

administrators may set. Some of them only make sense for

6873

administrators. To turn these on manually, the configuration file

6874

should be edited and the feature added to the _feature-list_ variable.

6875

You may set the feature expose-hidden-config to cause these hidden

6876

features to show up in the Setup/Config screen. They will be at the

6877

bottom of the screen.

6878

* disable-config-cmd

6879

* disable-keyboard-lock-cmd

6880

* disable-password-cmd

6881

* disable-pipes-in-sigs

6882

* disable-pipes-in-templates

6883

* disable-roles-setup-cmd

6884

* disable-roles-sig-edit

6885

* disable-roles-template-edit

6886

* disable-setlocale-collate

6887

* disable-shared-namespaces

6888

* disable-signature-edit-cmd

6889

6890

Retired Variables and Features

6891

6892

Variables and features that are no longer used by the current _Alpine_

6893

version. When an obsolete variable is encountered, its value is applied

6894

to any new corresponding setting. The replaced values include:

6895

6896

_character-set_

6897

Replaced by three separate variables: _display-character-set_,

6898

_keyboard-character-set_, and _posting-character-set_.

6899

_compose-mime_

6900

_elm-style-save_

6901

Replaced by _saved-msg-name-rule_

6902

_feature-level_

6903

Replaced by _feature-list._

6904

_header-in-reply_

6905

Replaced by _include-header-in-reply_ in the _feature-list._

6906

_old-style-reply_

6907

Replaced by _signature-at-bottom_ in the _feature-list._

6908

_use-old-unix-format-write_

6909

No replacement.

6910

_patterns_

6911

Replaced by four separate patterns variables: _patterns-roles_,

6912

_patterns-filters_, _patterns-scores_, and

6913

_patterns-indexcolors_. Since then, _patterns-filters_ has also

6914

become obsolete and is replaced by _patterns-filters2_;

6915

_patterns-scores_ is replaced by _patterns-scores2_.

6916

_save-by-sender_

6917

Replaced by _saved-msg-name-rule._

6918

_show-all-characters_

6919

No replacement, it always works this way now.

6920

6921

Tokens for Index and Replying

6922

6923

This set of special tokens may be used in the index-format option, in

6924

the reply-leadin option, in signature files, in template files used in

6925

roles, and in the folder name that is the target of a Filter Rule. Some

6926

of them aren't available in all situations.

6927

6928

The tokens are used as they appear below for the _Index-Format_ option,

6929

but they must be surrounded by underscores for the _Reply-Leadin_

6930

option, in signature and template files, and in the target of Filter

6931

Rules.

6932

6933

_Tokens Available for all Cases (except Filter Rules)_

6934

6935

SUBJECT

6936

This token represents the Subject the sender gave the message.

6937

Alternatives for use in the index screen are SUBJKEY,

6938

SUBJKEYINIT, SUBJECTTEXT, SUBJKEYTEXT, and SUBJKEYINITTEXT. You

6939

may color the subject text in the MESSAGE INDEX screen

6940

differently by using the Index Subject Color and the Index

6941

Opening Color. options available from the Setup Kolor screen.

6942

6943

FROM

6944

This token represents the personal name (or email address if the

6945

name is unavailable) of the person specified in the message's

6946

"From:" header field. You may color the from text in the MESSAGE

6947

INDEX screen differently by using the Index From Color option

6948

available from the Setup Kolor screen.

6949

6950

ADDRESS

6951

This is similar to the "FROM" token, only it is always the email

6952

address, never the personal name. For example, "mailbox@domain".

6953

6954

MAILBOX

6955

This is the same as the "ADDRESS" except that the domain part of

6956

the address is left off. For example, "mailbox".

6957

6958

SENDER

6959

This token represents the personal name (or email address) of

6960

the person listed in the message's "Sender:" header field.

6961

6962

TO

6963

This token represents the personal names (or email addresses if

6964

the names are unavailable) of the persons specified in the

6965

message's "To:" header field.

6966

6967

NEWSANDTO

6968

This token represents the newsgroups from the message's

6969

"Newsgroups:" header field _and_ the personal names (or email

6970

addresses if the names are unavailable) of the persons specified

6971

in the message's "To:" header field.

6972

6973

TOANDNEWS

6974

Same as "NEWSANDTO" except in the opposite order.

6975

6976

NEWS

6977

This token represents the newsgroups from the message's

6978

"Newsgroups:" header field.

6979

6980

CC

6981

This token represents the personal names (or email addresses if

6982

the names are unavailable) of the persons specified in the

6983

message's "Cc:" header field.

6984

6985

RECIPS

6986

This token represents the personal names (or email addresses if

6987

the names are unavailable) of the persons specified in both the

6988

message's "To:" header field and the message's "Cc:" header

6989

field.

6990

6991

NEWSANDRECIPS

6992

This token represents the newsgroups from the message's

6993

"Newsgroups:" header field _and_ the personal names (or email

6994

addresses if the names are unavailable) of the persons specified

6995

in the message's "To:" and "Cc:" header fields.

6996

6997

RECIPSANDNEWS

6998

Same as "NEWSANDRECIPS" except in the opposite order.

6999

7000

INIT

7001

This token represents the initials from the personal name of the

7002

person specified in the message's "From:" header field. If there

7003

is no personal name, it is blank.

7004

7005

DATE

7006

This token represents the date on which the message was sent,

7007

according to the "Date" header field. It has the format MMM DD.

7008

For example, "Oct 23". The feature convert-dates-to-localtime,

7009

which adjusts for the timezone the message was sent from, may

7010

have an affect on the value of this token as well as the values

7011

of all of the other DATE or TIME tokens. Some of the DATE and

7012

TIME tokens are displayed in a locale-specific way unless the

7013

option Disable-Index-Locale-Dates is set.

7014

7015

SMARTDATE

7016

This token represents the date on which the message was sent,

7017

according to the "Date" header field. It is "Today" if the

7018

message was sent today, "Yesterday" for yesterday, "Wednesday"

7019

if it was last Wednesday, and so on. If the message is from last

7020

year and is more than six months old it includes the year, as

7021

well. There is no adjustment made for different time zones, so

7022

you'll get the day the message was sent according to the time

7023

zone the sender was in. See the SMARTDATE alternatives below, as

7024

well.

7025

7026

SMARTTIME

7027

This token represents the most relevant elements of the date on

7028

which the message was sent (according to the "Date" header

7029

field), in a compact form. If the message was sent today, only

7030

the time is used (e.g. "9:22am", "10:07pm"); if it was sent

7031

during the past week, the day of the week and the hour are used

7032

(e.g. "Wed09am", "Thu10pm"); other dates are given as date,

7033

month, and year (e.g. "23Aug00", "9Apr98"). There is no

7034

adjustment made for different time zones, so you'll get the

7035

day/time the message was sent according to the time zone the

7036

sender was in.

7037

7038

SMARTDATETIME

7039

This is a combination of SMARTDATE and SMARTTIME. It is

7040

SMARTDATE unless the SMARTDATE value is "Today", in which case

7041

it is SMARTTIME. See the SMARTDATETIME alternatives below, as

7042

well.

7043

7044

DATEISO

7045

This token represents the date on which the message was sent,

7046

according to the "Date" header field. It has the format

7047

YYYY-MM-DD. For example, "1998-10-23".

7048

7049

SHORTDATEISO

7050

This token represents the date on which the message was sent,

7051

according to the "Date" header field. It has the format

7052

YY-MM-DD. For example, "98-10-23".

7053

7054

SHORTDATE1

7055

This token represents the date on which the message was sent,

7056

according to the "Date" header field. It has the format

7057

MM/DD/YY. For example, "10/23/98".

7058

7059

SHORTDATE2

7060

This token represents the date on which the message was sent,

7061

according to the "Date" header field. It has the format

7062

DD/MM/YY. For example, "23/10/98".

7063

7064

SHORTDATE3

7065

This token represents the date on which the message was sent,

7066

according to the "Date" header field. It has the format

7067

DD.MM.YY. For example, "23.10.98".

7068

7069

SHORTDATE4

7070

This token represents the date on which the message was sent,

7071

according to the "Date" header field. It has the format

7072

YY.MM.DD. For example, "98.10.23".

7073

7074

LONGDATE

7075

This token represents the date on which the message was sent,

7076

according to the "Date" header field. It has the format MMM DD,

7077

YYYY. For example, "Oct 23, 1998".

7078

7079

SMARTDATE alternatives

7080

There are several versions of SMARTDATE which are all the same

7081

except for the way they format dates far in the past. SMARTDATE

7082

formats the date using the information from your locale settings

7083

to format the date string. It may end up formatting dates so

7084

that they look like DATEISO tokens, or SHORTDATE2 tokens, or

7085

something else entirely. The feature convert-dates-to-localtime

7086

may have an affect on the values of these tokens. If you want

7087

more control you may use one of the following.

7088

7089

SMARTDATE

7090

If the option Disable-Index-Locale-Dates is not set then

7091

this will be locale specific. Control this with the

7092

LC_TIME locale setting on a UNIX system. On Windows the

7093

Regional Options control panel may be used to set the

7094

Short date format. At the programming level, the strftime

7095

routine is what _Alpine_ uses to print the date. If the

7096

Disable-Index-Locale-Dates option is set then this is

7097

equivalent to SMARTDATES1.

7098

7099

SMARTDATEISO

7100

DATEISO format. See text above.

7101

7102

SMARTDATESHORTISO

7103

SHORTDATEISO format.

7104

7105

SMARTDATES1

7106

SHORTDATE1 format.

7107

7108

SMARTDATES2

7109

SHORTDATE2 format.

7110

7111

SMARTDATES3

7112

SHORTDATE3 format.

7113

7114

SMARTDATES4

7115

SHORTDATE4 format.

7116

7117

SMARTDATETIME alternatives

7118

There are several versions of SMARTDATETIME which are all very

7119

similar. The ones which end in 24 use a 24-hour clock for

7120

Today's messages instead of a 12-hour clock. The other variation

7121

is for the way they format dates far in the past. SMARTDATETIME

7122

and SMARTDATETIME24 format the date using the information from

7123

your locale settings to format the date string. It may end up

7124

formatting dates so that they look like DATEISO tokens, or

7125

SHORTDATE2 tokens, or something else entirely. The feature

7126

convert-dates-to-localtime may have an affect on the values of

7127

these tokens. The possible choices are:

7128

7129

SMARTDATETIME

7130

Locale specific. Control this with the LC_TIME locale

7131

setting on a UNIX system. On Windows the Regional Options

7132

control panel may be used to set the Short date format. At

7133

the programming level, the strftime routine is what

7134

_Alpine_ uses to print the date.

7135

7136

SMARTDATETIME

7137

If the option Disable-Index-Locale-Dates is not set then

7138

this will be locale specific. Control this with the

7139

LC_TIME locale setting on a UNIX system. On Windows the

7140

Regional Options control panel may be used to set the

7141

Short date format. At the programming level, the strftime

7142

routine is what _Alpine_ uses to print the date. If the

7143

Disable-Index-Locale-Dates option is set then this is

7144

equivalent to SMARTDATETIMES1.

7145

7146

SMARTDATETIME24

7147

Use TIME24 for Today

7148

7149

SMARTDATETIMEISO

7150

DATEISO format. See text above.

7151

7152

SMARTDATETIMEISO24

7153

Use TIME24 for Today

7154

7155

SMARTDATETIMESHORTISO

7156

SHORTDATEISO format.

7157

7158

SMARTDATETIMESHORTISO24

7159

Use TIME24 for Today

7160

7161

SMARTDATETIMES1

7162

SHORTDATE1 format.

7163

7164

SMARTDATETIMES124

7165

Use TIME24 for Today

7166

7167

SMARTDATETIMES2

7168

SHORTDATE2 format.

7169

7170

SMARTDATETIMES224

7171

Use TIME24 for Today

7172

7173

SMARTDATETIMES3

7174

SHORTDATE3 format.

7175

7176

SMARTDATETIMES324

7177

Use TIME24 for Today

7178

7179

SMARTDATETIMES4

7180

SHORTDATE4 format.

7181

7182

SMARTDATETIMES424

7183

Use TIME24 for Today

7184

7185

DAYDATE

7186

This token represents the date on which the message was sent,

7187

according to the "Date" header field. It looks like "Sat, 23 Oct

7188

1998". This token is never converted in any locale-specific way.

7189

7190

PREFDATE

7191

This token represents the date on which the message was sent,

7192

according to the "Date" header field. It is your operating

7193

system's idea of the preferred date representation for the

7194

current locale. Internally it uses the %x version of the date

7195

from the strftime routine.

7196

7197

PREFTIME

7198

This token represents the time at which the message was sent,

7199

according to the "Date" header field. It is the preferred time

7200

representation for the current locale. Internally it uses the %X

7201

version of the time from the strftime routine.

7202

7203

PREFDATETIME

7204

This token represents the date and time at which the message was

7205

sent, according to the "Date" header field. It is the preferred

7206

date and time representation for the current locale. Internally

7207

it uses the %c version of the time from the strftime routine.

7208

7209

DAY

7210

This token represents the day of the month on which the message

7211

was sent, according to the "Date" header field. For example,

7212

"23" or "9".

7213

7214

DAY2DIGIT

7215

This token represents the day of the month on which the message

7216

was sent, according to the "Date" header field. For example,

7217

"23" or "09". It is always 2 digits.

7218

7219

DAYORDINAL

7220

This token represents the ordinal number which is the day of the

7221

month on which the message was sent, according to the "Date"

7222

header field. For example, "23rd" or "9th".

7223

7224

DAYOFWEEK

7225

This token represents the day of the week on which the message

7226

was sent, according to the "Date" header field. For example,

7227

"Sunday" or "Wednesday".

7228

7229

DAYOFWEEKABBREV

7230

This token represents the day of the week on which the message

7231

was sent, according to the "Date" header field. For example,

7232

"Sun" or "Wed".

7233

7234

MONTHABBREV

7235

This token represents the month the message was sent, according

7236

to the "Date" header field. For example, "Oct".

7237

7238

MONTHLONG

7239

This token represents the month in which the message was sent,

7240

according to the "Date" header field. For example, "October".

7241

7242

MONTH

7243

This token represents the month in which the message was sent,

7244

according to the "Date" header field. For example, "10" or "9".

7245

7246

MONTH2DIGIT

7247

This token represents the month in which the message was sent,

7248

according to the "Date" header field. For example, "10" or "09".

7249

It is always 2 digits.

7250

7251

YEAR

7252

This token represents the year the message was sent, according

7253

to the "Date" header field. For example, "1998" or "2001".

7254

7255

YEAR2DIGIT

7256

This token represents the year the message was sent, according

7257

to the "Date" header field. For example, "98" or "01". It is

7258

always 2 digits.

7259

7260

TIME24

7261

This token represents the time at which the message was sent,

7262

according to the "Date" header field. There is no adjustment

7263

made for different time zones, so you'll get the time the

7264

message was sent according to the time zone the sender was in.

7265

It has the format HH:MM. For example, "17:28".

7266

7267

TIME12

7268

This token represents the time at which the message was sent,

7269

according to the "Date" header field. This time is for a 12 hour

7270

clock. It has the format HH:MMpm. For example, "5:28pm" or

7271

"11:13am".

7272

7273

TIMEZONE

7274

This token represents the numeric timezone from the "Date"

7275

header field. It has the format [+-]HHMM. For example, "-0800".

7276

7277

_Tokens Available Only for Index-Format_

7278

7279

MSGNO

7280

This token represents the message's current position in the

7281

folder which, of course, may change as the folder is sorted or

7282

new mail arrives.

7283

7284

STATUS

7285

This token represents a three character wide field displaying

7286

various aspects of the message's state. The first character is

7287

either blank, a '*' for message marked Important, or a '+'

7288

indicating a message addressed directly to you (as opposed to

7289

your having received it via a mailing list, for example). When

7290

the feature mark-for-cc is set, if the first character would

7291

have been blank then it will instead be a '-' if the message is

7292

cc'd to you. The second character is typically blank, though the

7293

arrow cursor may occupy it if either the assume-slow-link or the

7294

force-arrow-cursor feature is set (or you actually are on a slow

7295

link). The third character is either D (Deleted), A (Answered),

7296

N (New), or blank.

7297

7298

If you are using a threaded view of the index and this message

7299

is at the top of a collapsed portion of a thread, then this

7300

token refers to all of the messages in the collapsed portion of

7301

the thread instead of just the top message. The first character

7302

will be a '*' if _any_ of the messages in the thread are marked

7303

Important, else a '+' if any of the messages are addressed to

7304

you, else a '-' if any of the messages are cc'd to you. The

7305

third character will be a 'D' if _all_ of the messages in the

7306

collapsed thread are marked deleted, an 'A' if _all_ of the

7307

messages in the collapsed thread are marked answered, it will be

7308

an 'N' if any of the messages are undeleted and unseen, and it

7309

will be blank otherwise.

7310

7311

FULLSTATUS

7312

This token represents a less abbreviated alternative to the

7313

"STATUS" token. It is six characters wide. The first character

7314

is '+', '-', or blank, the second blank, the third either '*' or

7315

blank, the fourth N or blank, the fifth A or blank, and the

7316

sixth character is either D or blank.

7317

7318

If you are using a threaded view of the index and this message

7319

is at the top of a collapsed portion of a thread, then this

7320

token refers to all of the messages in the collapsed portion of

7321

the thread instead of just the top message. The first character

7322

is '+', '-', or blank depending on whether _any_ of the messages

7323

in the collapsed thread are addressed to you or cc'd to you. The

7324

third character will be '*' if any of the messages are marked

7325

Important. The fourth character will be 'N' if all of the

7326

messages in the thread are New, else 'n' if some of the messages

7327

in the thread are New, else blank. The fifth character will be

7328

'A' or 'a' or blank, and the sixth character will be 'D' or 'd'

7329

or blank.

7330

7331

IMAPSTATUS

7332

This token represents an even less abbreviated alternative to

7333

the "STATUS" token. It differs from "FULLSTATUS" in only the

7334

fourth character which is an 'N' if the message is new to this

7335

folder since the last time it was opened _and_ it has not been

7336

viewed, an 'R' (Recent) if the message is new to the folder and

7337

has been viewed, a 'U' (Unseen) if the message is not new to the

7338

folder since it was last opened _but_ has not been viewed, or a

7339

blank if the message has been in the folder since it was last

7340

opened and has been viewed.

7341

7342

If you are using a threaded view of the index and this message

7343

is at the top of a collapsed portion of a thread, then the

7344

fourth character will be 'N' if all of the messages in the

7345

thread are unseen and recent; else 'n' if some of the messages

7346

in the thread are unseen and recent; else 'U' if all of the

7347

messages in the thread are unseen and not recent; else 'u' if

7348

some of the messages in the thread are unseen and not recent;

7349

else 'R' if all of the messages in the thread are seen and

7350

recent; else 'r' if some of the messages in the thread are seen

7351

and recent; else blank.

7352

7353

SHORTIMAPSTATUS

7354

This is the same as the last four of the six characters of

7355

IMAPSTATUS, so the '+' To Me information will be missing.

7356

7357

SIZE

7358

This token represents the total size, in bytes, of the message.

7359

If a "K" (Kilobyte) follows the number, the size is

7360

approximately 1,000 times that many bytes (rounded to the

7361

nearest 1,000). If an "M" (Megabyte) follows the number, the

7362

size is approximately 1,000,000 times that many bytes. Commas

7363

are not used in this field. This field is seven characters wide,

7364

including the enclosing parentheses. Sizes are rounded when "K"

7365

or "M" is present. The progression of sizes used looks like:

7366

7367

0 1 ... 9999 10K ... 999K 1.0M ... 99.9M 100M ... 2000M

7368

7369

SIZECOMMA

7370

This token represents the total size, in bytes, of the message.

7371

If a "K" (Kilobyte) follows the number, the size is

7372

approximately 1,000 times that many bytes (rounded to the

7373

nearest 1,000). If an "M" (Megabyte) follows the number, the

7374

size is approximately 1,000,000 times that many bytes. Commas

7375

are used if the number shown is 1,000 or greater. The SIZECOMMA

7376

field is one character wider than the SIZE field. Sizes are

7377

rounded when "K" or "M" is present. The progression of sizes

7378

used looks like:

7379

7380

0 1 ... 99,999 100K ... 9,999K 10.0M ... 999.9M 1,000M ... 2,000M

7381

7382

KSIZE

7383

This token represents the total size of the message, expressed

7384

in kilobytes or megabytes, as most appropriate. These are 1,024

7385

byte kilobytes and 1,024 x 1,024 byte megabytes. The progression

7386

of sizes used looks like:

7387

7388

0K 1K ... 1023K 1.0M ... 99.9M 100M ... 2047M

7389

7390

SIZENARROW

7391

This token represents the total size, in bytes, of the message.

7392

If a "K" (Kilobyte) follows the number, the size is

7393

approximately 1,000 times that many bytes. If an "M" (Megabyte)

7394

follows the number, the size is approximately 1,000,000 times

7395

that many bytes. If a "G" (Gigabyte) follows the number, the

7396

size is approximately 1,000,000,000 times that many bytes. This

7397

field uses only five characters of screen width, including the

7398

enclosing parentheses. The progression of sizes used looks like:

7399

7400

0 1 ... 999 1K ... 99K .1M ... .9M 1M ... 99M .1G ... .9G 1G 2G

7401

7402

DESCRIPSIZE

7403

This token is intended to represent a more useful description of

7404

the message than just its size, but it isn't very useful at this

7405

point. The plus sign in this view means there are attachments.

7406

Note that including this token in the "Index-Format" could slow

7407

down the display a little while _Alpine_ collects the necessary

7408

information.

7409

7410

SUBJKEY

7411

This token is the same as the SUBJECT token unless keywords are

7412

set for the message. In that case, a list of keywords enclosed

7413

in braces will be prepended to the subject of the message. Only

7414

those keywords that you have defined in your Keywords option in

7415

Setup/Config are considered in the list. In other words,

7416

keywords that have been set by some other means, perhaps by

7417

another email program, won't show up unless included in

7418

Keywords. Having this set in the Index-Format will also cause

7419

the keywords to be prepended to the subject in the MESSAGE TEXT

7420

screen. If you have given a keyword a nickname (keywords), that

7421

nickname is displayed instead of the actual keyword. The

7422

keyword-surrounding-chars option may be used to modify this

7423

token slightly. It is also possible to color keywords in the

7424

index using the Setup/Kolor screen.

7425

7426

SUBJKEYINIT

7427

This token is the same as the SUBJKEY token except that instead

7428

of prepending a list of keywords to the subject, a list of first

7429

initials of keywords will be prepended instead. For example, if

7430

a message has the keywords _Work_ and _Now_ set (or Work and Now

7431

are the _Alpine_ nicknames of keywords which are set) then the

7432

SUBJKEY token would cause a result like

7433

7434

{Work Now} actual subject

7435

7436

whereas the SUBJKEYINIT token would give

7437

7438

{WN} actual subject

7439

7440

Only those keywords that you have defined in your Keywords

7441

option in Setup/Config are considered in the list. In other

7442

words, keywords that have been set by some other means, perhaps

7443

by another email program, won't show up unless included in

7444

Keywords. The keyword-surrounding-chars option may be used to

7445

modify this token slightly. It is also possible to color

7446

keywords in the index using the Setup/Kolor screen.

7447

7448

SUBJECTTEXT

7449

Same as SUBJECT but if there is room in the Subject field for

7450

more text, the opening part of the text of the message is

7451

displayed after the subject. The time needed to fetch the text

7452

may cause a performance problem which can, of course, be avoided

7453

by using the SUBJECT version of the Subject instead. You may

7454

color this opening text differently by using the Index Opening

7455

Color option available from the Setup Kolor screen. You may

7456

adjust the characters that are displayed between the Subject and

7457

the opening text with the option Opening-Text-Separator-Chars.

7458

7459

SUBJKEYTEXT

7460

Same as SUBJKEY but with the opening message text.

7461

7462

SUBJKEYINITTEXT

7463

Same as SUBJKEYINIT but with the opening message text.

7464

7465

OPENINGTEXT

7466

This is similar to SUBJECTTEXT. Instead of combining the Subject

7467

and the opening text in a single field in the index screen this

7468

token allows you to allocate a separate column just for the

7469

opening text of the message. The time needed to fetch this text

7470

may cause a performance problem. You may color this opening text

7471

differently by using the Index Opening Color option available

7472

from the Setup Kolor screen.

7473

7474

OPENINGTEXTNQ

7475

This is very similar to OPENINGTEXT. The NQ stands for No

7476

Quotes. The only difference is that quoted text (lines beginning

7477

with >) is deleted. For some messages this may be confusing. For

7478

example, a message might have a line preceding some quoted text

7479

that reads something like "On May 8th person A said." That no

7480

longer makes sense after the quoted text is deleted and it will

7481

appear that person A said whatever the text after the quote is,

7482

even though that is really person B talking.

7483

7484

KEY

7485

This is a space-delimited list of keywords that are set for the

7486

message. Only those keywords that you have defined in your

7487

Keywords option in Setup/Config are considered in the list. In

7488

other words, keywords that have been set by some other means,

7489

perhaps by another email program, won't show up unless included

7490

in Keywords. If you have given a keyword a nickname that

7491

nickname is displayed instead of the actual keyword. It is also

7492

possible to color keywords in the index using the Setup/Kolor

7493

screen. This token defaults to an arbitrary width of 5. You

7494

should set it to whatever width suits you using something like

7495

KEY(17) in the Index-Format.

7496

7497

KEYINIT

7498

This is a list of keyword initials that are set for the message.

7499

If you have given a keyword a nickname the initial of that

7500

nickname is displayed instead of the initial of the actual

7501

keyword. It is also possible to color keyword initials in the

7502

index using the Setup/Kolor screen. This token defaults to an

7503

arbitrary width of 2. You should set it to whatever width suits

7504

you using something like KEYINIT(3) in the Index-Format.

7505

7506

PRIORITY

7507

The X-Priority header is a non-standard header that is used in a

7508

somewhat standard way by many mail programs. _Alpine_ expects

7509

the value of this header to be a digit with a value from 1 to 5,

7510

with 1 being the highest priority and 5 the lowest priority.

7511

Since this priority is something that the sender sets it is only

7512

an indication of the priority that the sender attaches to the

7513

mail and it is therefore almost totally unreliable for use as a

7514

filtering criterion. This token will display the numeric value

7515

of the priority if it is between 1 and 5. It will be suppressed

7516

(blank) if the value is 3, which is normal priority. It is also

7517

possible to set the color of the PRIORITY field. By default the

7518

token is colored the same as the index line it is part of. You

7519

may set it to be another color with the Index Priority Colors

7520

options available from the Setup Kolor screen.

7521

7522

PRIORITYALPHA

7523

This is a more verbose interpretation of the X-Priority field.

7524

Once again nothing is displayed unless the value of the field is

7525

1, 2, 4, or 5. The values displayed for those values are:

7526

7527

1 Highest

7528

2 High

7529

4 Low

7530

5 Lowest

7531

7532

You may color this token with the Index Priority Colors options.

7533

7534

PRIORITY!

7535

This is a one character, non-numeric version of the X-Priority

7536

field. If the value of the X-Priority header is 1 or 2 an

7537

exclamation point is displayed. If the value is 4 or 5 a "v"

7538

(think down arrow) is displayed. You may color this token with

7539

the Index Priority Colors options.

7540

7541

ATT

7542

This is a one column wide field which represents the number of

7543

attachments a message has. It will be blank if there are no

7544

attachments, a single digit for one to nine attachments, or an

7545

asterisk for more than nine. Note that including this token in

7546

the "Index-Format" could slow down the display a little while

7547

_Alpine_ collects the necessary information.

7548

7549

FROMORTO

7550

This token represents _either_ the personal name (or email

7551

address) of the person listed in the message's "From:" header

7552

field, _or_, if that address is yours or one of your alternate

7553

addresses, the first person specified in the message's "To:"

7554

header field with the prefix "To: " prepended. If the from

7555

address is yours and there is also no "To" address, _Alpine_

7556

will use the address on the "Cc" line. If there is no address

7557

there, either, _Alpine_ will look for a newsgroup name from the

7558

"Newsgroups" header field and put that after the "To: " prefix.

7559

7560

FROMORTONOTNEWS

7561

This is almost the same as _FROMORTO_. The difference is that

7562

newsgroups aren't considered. When a message is from you,

7563

doesn't have a To or Cc, and does have a Newsgroups header; this

7564

token will be your name instead of the name of the newsgroup

7565

(like it would be with FROMORTO).

7566

7567

TEXT

7568

This is a different sort of token. It allows you to display a

7569

label within each index line. It will be the same fixed text for

7570

each line. It is different from all the other tokens in that

7571

there is no space column displayed after this token. Instead, it

7572

is butted up against the following field. It also has a

7573

different syntax. The text to display is given following a colon

7574

after the word "TEXT". For example,

7575

7576

TEXT:abc=

7577

7578

would insert the literal text "abc=" (without the quotes) into

7579

the index display line. You must quote the text if it includes

7580

space characters, like

7581

7582

TEXT:"abc = "

7583

7584

HEADER

7585

This allows you to display the text from a particular header

7586

line in the message. The syntax for this token is substantially

7587

different from all the others in order that you might be able to

7588

display a portion of the text following a particular header. The

7589

header name you are interested in is given following a colon

7590

after the word "HEADER". For example,

7591

7592

HEADER:X-Spam

7593

7594

would display the text of the X-Spam header, if any. Like for

7595

other index tokens a width field may (and probably should)

7596

follow this.

7597

7598

HEADER:X-Spam(10)

7599

7600

displays the first ten characters of the X-Spam header. Unlike

7601

other index tokens, the syntax for HEADER is more flexible. An

7602

optional second argument comes after a comma inside the

7603

parentheses. It specifies the "field" number. By default, the

7604

field separator is a space character. No extra space characters

7605

are allowed in the argument list.

7606

7607

HEADER:X-Spam(10,2)

7608

7609

would display the second field, left-justified, in a 10

7610

character wide field. The second field would consist of all the

7611

text after the first space up to the next space or the end of

7612

the header. The default field number is zero, which stands for

7613

the entire line. There is also an optional third argument which

7614

is a list of field separators. It defaults to a space character.

7615

The example

7616

7617

HEADER:X-Spam(10,2,:% )

7618

7619

would cause the field separators to be any of colon, percent, or

7620

space (there is a space character between the percent and the

7621

right parenthesis). The first field runs from the start of the

7622

header value up to the first colon, percent, or space; the

7623

second goes from there to the next; and so on. In order to use a

7624

comma character as a field separator you must escape it by

7625

preceding it with a backslash (\). The same is true of the

7626

backslash character itself. There is one further optional

7627

argument. It is an R or an L to specify right or left adjustment

7628

of the text within the field. The default is to left justify,

7629

however if you are displaying numbers you might prefer to right

7630

justify.

7631

7632

Here's an example of a SpamAssassin header. The exact look of

7633

the header will vary, but if your incoming mail contains headers

7634

that look like the following

7635

7636

X-Spam-Status: Yes, hits=10.6 tagged_above=-999.0 required=7.0

7637

tests=BAYE...

7638

7639

you might want to display the hits value. The first field starts

7640

with the Y in Yes. To get what you're interested in you might

7641

use "=" and space as the field separators and display the third

7642

field, like

7643

7644

HEADER:X-Spam-Status(4,3,= )

7645

7646

or maybe you would break at the dot instead

7647

7648

HEADER:X-Spam-Status(2,2,=.,R)

7649

7650

Another example we've seen has headers that look like

7651

7652

X-Spam: Gauge=IIIIIII, Probability=7%, Report=...

7653

7654

Because there are two equals and a comma before the 7% and a

7655

comma after it, the token

7656

7657

HEADER:X-Spam-Status(3,4,=\,,R)

7658

7659

should display the probability (for example 7% or 83%) right

7660

justified in a 3-wide field.

7661

7662

ARROW

7663

This gives an alternative way to display the current message in

7664

the MESSAGE INDEX screen. Usually the current message is

7665

indicated by the line being shown in reverse video. Instead, if

7666

the ARROW token is included in your Index-Format, the current

7667

line will include an "arrow" that looks like

7668

7669

->

7670

7671

in the ARROW token's field. For all of the non-current messages,

7672

the ARROW field will be filled with blanks. If you use the

7673

fixed-field width feature the length of the "arrow" may be

7674

adjusted. The arrow will be drawn as width-1 dashes followed by

7675

a greater than sign. For example, if you use ARROW(3) you will

7676

get

7677

7678

-->

7679

7680

and ARROW(1) will give you just

7681

7682

>

7683

7684

It is also possible to set the color of the ARROW field. By

7685

default (and for non-current messages) the arrow is colored the

7686

same as the index line it is part of. You may set it to be

7687

another color with the Index Arrow Color option available from

7688

the Setup Kolor screen.

7689

7690

SCORE

7691

This gives the score of each message. This will be six columns

7692

wide to accomodate the widest possible score. You will probably

7693

want to use the Index-Format fixed-field width feature to limit

7694

the width of the field to the widest score that you use (e.g.

7695

SCORE(3) if your scores are always between 0 and 999). If you

7696

have not defined any score rules the scores will all be zero. If

7697

any of your score rules contain AllText or BodyText patterns

7698

then including SCORE in the Index-Format may slow down the

7699

display of the MESSAGE INDEX screen.

7700

7701

_Tokens Available for all but Index-Format_

7702

7703

CURNEWS

7704

This token represents the current newsgroup if there is one. For

7705

example, "comp.mail.pine".

7706

7707

MSGID

7708

This token represents the message ID of the message. This token

7709

does not work with Filter Rule folder names.

7710

7711

CURDATE

7712

This token represents the current date. It has the format MMM

7713

DD. For example, "Oct 23".

7714

7715

CURDATEISO

7716

This token represents the current date. It has the format

7717

YYYY-MM-DD. For example, "1998-10-23".

7718

7719

CURDATEISOS

7720

This token represents the current date. It has the format

7721

YY-MM-DD. For example, "98-10-23".

7722

7723

CURPREFDATE

7724

This token represents the current date. It is your operating

7725

system's idea of the preferred date representation for the

7726

current locale. Internally it uses the %x version of the date

7727

from the strftime routine.

7728

7729

CURPREFTIME

7730

This token represents the current time. It is the preferred time

7731

representation for the current locale. Internally it uses the %X

7732

version of the time from the strftime routine.

7733

7734

CURPREFDATETIME

7735

This token represents the current date and time. It is the

7736

preferred date and time representation for the current locale.

7737

Internally it uses the %c version of the time from the strftime

7738

routine.

7739

7740

CURTIME24

7741

This token represents the current time. It has the format HH:MM.

7742

For example, "17:28".

7743

7744

CURTIME12

7745

This token represents the current time. This time is for a 12

7746

hour clock. It has the format HH:MMpm. For example, "5:28pm" or

7747

"11:13am".

7748

7749

CURDAY

7750

This token represents the current day of the month. For example,

7751

"23" or "9".

7752

7753

CURDAY2DIGIT

7754

This token represents the current day of the month. For example,

7755

"23" or "09". It is always 2 digits.

7756

7757

CURDAYOFWEEK

7758

This token represents the current day of the week. For example,

7759

"Sunday" or "Wednesday".

7760

7761

CURDAYOFWEEKABBREV

7762

This token represents the current day of the week. For example,

7763

"Sun" or "Wed".

7764

7765

CURMONTH

7766

This token represents the current month. For example, "10" or

7767

"9".

7768

7769

CURMONTH2DIGIT

7770

This token represents the current month. For example, "10" or

7771

"09". It is always 2 digits.

7772

7773

CURMONTHLONG

7774

This token represents the current month. For example, "October".

7775

7776

CURMONTHABBREV

7777

This token represents the current month. For example, "Oct".

7778

7779

CURYEAR

7780

This token represents the current year. For example, "1998" or

7781

"2001".

7782

7783

CURYEAR2DIGIT

7784

This token represents the current year. For example, "98" or

7785

"01". It is always 2 digits.

7786

7787

LASTMONTH

7788

This token represents last month. For example, if this is

7789

November (the 11th month), it is equal to "10" or if this is

7790

October (the 10th month), it is "9". It is possible that this

7791

and the other tokens beginning with LASTMONTH below could be

7792

useful when used with a Filtering Rule that has the "Beginning

7793

of Month" option set.

7794

7795

LASTMONTH2DIGIT

7796

This token represents last month. For example, if this is

7797

November (the 11th month), it is equal to "10" or if this is

7798

October (the 10th month), it is "09". It is always 2 digits.

7799

7800

LASTMONTHLONG

7801

This token represents last month. For example, if this is

7802

November the value is "October".

7803

7804

LASTMONTHABBREV

7805

This token represents last month. For example, if this is

7806

November the value is "Oct".

7807

7808

LASTMONTHYEAR

7809

This token represents what the year was a month ago. For

7810

example, if this is October, 1998, it is "1998". If this is

7811

January, 1998, it is "1997".

7812

7813

LASTMONTHYEAR2DIGIT

7814

This token represents what the year was a month ago. For

7815

example, if this is October, 1998, it is "98". If this is

7816

January, 1998, it is "97".

7817

7818

LASTYEAR

7819

This token represents last year. For example, if this is 1998,

7820

it equals "1997". It is possible that this could be useful when

7821

used with a Filtering Rule that has the "Beginning of Year"

7822

option set.

7823

7824

LASTYEAR2DIGIT

7825

This token represents last year. For example, if this is 1998,

7826

it equals "97". It is always 2 digits.

7827

7828

ROLENICK

7829

This token represents the nickname of the role currently being

7830

used. If no role is being used, then no text will be printed for

7831

this token. This token does not work with Filter Rule folder

7832

names.

7833

7834

_Token Available Only for Reply-Leadin_

7835

7836

See the help for the Reply-Leadin option, to see why you might want to

7837

use this. Since the _Reply-Leadin_ contains free text this token must

7838

be surrounded by underscores when used.

7839

7840

NEWLINE

7841

This is an end of line marker.

7842

7843

_Token Available Only for Templates and Signatures_

7844

7845

CURSORPOS

7846

This token is different from the others. When it is replaced it

7847

is replaced with nothing, but it sets a _Alpine_ internal

7848

variable which tells the composer to start with the cursor

7849

positioned at the position where this token was. If both the

7850

template file and the signature file contain a "CURSORPOS"

7851

token, then the position in the template file is used. If there

7852

is a template file and neither it nor the signature file

7853

contains a "CURSORPOS" token, then the cursor is positioned

7854

after the end of the contents of the template file when the

7855

composer starts up.

7856

7857

Conditional Inclusion of Text for Reply-Leadin, Signatures, and Templates

7858

7859

Conditional text inclusion may be used with the Reply-Leadin option, in

7860

signature files, and in template files used in roles. It may _not_ be

7861

used with the _Index-Format_ option.

7862

7863

There is a limited if-else capability for including text. The if-else

7864

condition is based on whether or not a given token would result in

7865

replacement text you specify. The syntax of this conditional inclusion

7866

is

7867

7868

_token_(match_this, if_matched [ , if_not_matched ] )

7869

7870

The left parenthesis must follow the underscore immediately, with no

7871

intervening space. It means the token is expanded and the results of

7872

that expansion are compared against the "match_this" argument. If there

7873

is an exact match, then the "if_matched" text is used as the

7874

replacement text. Otherwise, the "if_not_matched" text is used. One of

7875

the most useful values for the "match_this" argument is the empty

7876

string, "". In that case the expansion is compared against the empty

7877

string.

7878

7879

Here's an example to make it clearer. This text could be included in

7880

one of your template files:

7881

7882

_NEWS_("", "I'm replying to email","I'm replying to news")

7883

7884

If that is included in a template file which you are using while

7885

replying to a message (because you chose to use the role it was part

7886

of), and that message has a newsgroup header and a newsgroup in that

7887

header, then the text

7888

7889

I'm replying to news

7890

7891

will be included in the message you are about to compose. On the other

7892

hand, if the message you are replying to does not have a newsgroup,

7893

then the text

7894

7895

I'm replying to email

7896

7897

would be included instead. This would also work in signature files and

7898

in the "Reply-Leadin" option. If the "match_this", "if_matched", or

7899

"if_not_matched" arguments contain spaces, parentheses, or commas; they

7900

have to be quoted with double quotation marks (like in the example

7901

above). If you want to include a literal quote in the text you must

7902

escape the quote by preceding it with a backslash character. If you

7903

want to include a literal backslash character you must escape it by

7904

preceding it with another backslash.

7905

7906

The comma followed by "if_not_matched" is optional. If there is no

7907

"if_not_matched" present then no text is included if the not_matched

7908

case is true. Here's another example:

7909

7910

_NEWS_("", "", "This msg was seen in group: _NEWS_.")

7911

7912

Here you can see that tokens may appear in the arguments. The same is

7913

true for tokens with the conditional parentheses. They may appear in

7914

arguments, though you do have to be careful to get the quoting and

7915

escaping of nested double quotes correct. If this was in the signature

7916

file being used and you were replying to a message sent to

7917

comp.mail.pine the resulting text would be:

7918

7919

This msg was seen in group: comp.mail.pine.

7920

7921

If you were replying to a message which wasn't sent to any newsgroup

7922

the resulting text would be a single blank line. The reason you'd get a

7923

blank line is because the end of the line is outside of the

7924

conditional, so is always included. If you wanted to get rid of that

7925

blank line you could do so by moving the end of line inside the

7926

conditional. In other words, it's ok to have multi-line "if_matched" or

7927

"if_not_matched" arguments. The text just continues until the next

7928

double quotation, even if it's not on the same line.

7929

7930

Here's one more (contrived) example illustrating a matching argument

7931

which is not the empty string.

7932

7933

_SMARTDATE_("Today", _SMARTDATE_, "On _DATE_") _FROM_ wrote:

7934

7935

If this was the value of your "Reply-Leadin" option and you were

7936

replying to a message which was sent today, then the value of the

7937

"Reply-Leadin" would be

7938

7939

Today Fred Flintstone wrote:

7940

7941

But if you were replying to a message sent on Oct. 27 (and that wasn't

7942

today) you would get

7943

7944

On Oct 27 Fred Flintstone wrote:

7945

7946

Per Server Directory Configuration

7947

7948

This is only available if _Alpine_ was built with LDAP support. If

7949

that's the case, there will be a Directory option underneath the Setup

7950

command on the Main Menu. Each server that is defined there has several

7951

configuration variables which control the behavior when using it.

7952

_ldap-server_

7953

This is the name of the host where an LDAP server is running.

7954

To find out whether your organization has its own LDAP server,

7955

contact its computing support staff.

7956

_search-base_

7957

This is the search base to be used on this server. It functions

7958

as a filter by restricting your searches in the LDAP server

7959

database to the specified contents of the specified fields.

7960

Without it, searches submitted to this directory server may

7961

fail. It might be something like:

7962

O = <Your Organization Name>, C = US

7963

7964

or it might be blank. (Some LDAP servers actually ignore

7965

anything specified here.)

7966

If in doubt what parameters you should specify here, contact the

7967

maintainers of the LDAP server.

7968

_port_

7969

This is the TCP port number to be used with this LDAP server. If

7970

you leave this blank port 389 will be used.

7971

_nickname_

7972

This is a nickname to be used in displays. If you don't supply a

7973

nickname the server name from "ldap-server" will be used

7974

instead. This option is strictly for your convenience.

7975

_use-implicitly-from-composer_

7976

Set this feature to have lookups done to this server implicitly

7977

from the composer. If an address doesn't look like a

7978

fully-qualified address, it will be looked up in your address

7979

books, and if it doesn't match a nickname there, then it will be

7980

looked up on the LDAP servers which have this feature set. The

7981

lookups will also be done when using the address completion

7982

feature (TAB command) in the composer if any of the serves have

7983

this feature set. Also see the LDAP feature

7984

lookup-addrbook-contents and the Setup/Config feature

7985

ldap-result-to-addrbook-add.

7986

_lookup-addrbook-contents_

7987

Normally implicit LDAP lookups from the composer are done only

7988

for the strings you type in from the composer screen. In other

7989

words, you type in something in the To or CC field and press

7990

return, then the string is looked up. First that string is

7991

looked up in your address books. If a match is found there, then

7992

the results of that match are looked up again. If you place a

7993

string in your address book that you want to have looked up on

7994

the LDAP directory server, you need to turn on this feature. If

7995

you set this feature for a server, you almost always will also

7996

want to set the use-implicitly-from-composer feature. An example

7997

might serve to best illustrate this feature.

7998

If an LDAP lookup of "William Clinton" normally returns an entry

7999

with an address of pres@whitehouse.gov, then you might put an

8000

entry in your address book that looks like:

8001

Nickname Address

8002

bill "William Clinton"

8003

8004

Now, when you type "bill" into an address field in the composer

8005

_Alpine_ will find the "bill" entry in your address book. It will

8006

replace "bill" with "William Clinton". It will then search for

8007

an entry with that nickname in your address book and not find

8008

one. If this feature is set, _Alpine_ will then attempt to

8009

lookup "William Clinton" on the LDAP server and find the entry

8010

with address pres@whitehouse.gov.

8011

A better way to accomplish the same thing is probably to use the

8012

feature save-search-criteria-not-result.

8013

_save-search-criteria-not-result_

8014

Normally when you save the results of an LDAP directory lookup

8015

to your address book the _results_ of the lookup are saved. If

8016

this feature is set and the entry being saved was found on this

8017

directory server, then the search _criteria_ is saved instead of

8018

the _results_ of the search. When this address book entry is

8019

used in the future, instead of copying the results from the

8020

address book the directory lookup will be done again. This could

8021

be useful if the copied result might become stale because the

8022

data on the directory server changes (for example, the entry's

8023

email address changes). You probably don't want to set this

8024

feature if the server is at all slow or unreliable.

8025

The way this actually works is that instead of saving the email

8026

address in your address book, _Alpine_ saves enough information

8027

to look up the same directory entry again. In particular, it

8028

saves the server name and the distinguished name of the entry.

8029

It's possible that the server administrators might change the

8030

format of distinguished names on the server, or that the entry

8031

might be removed from the server. If _Alpine_ notices this, you

8032

will be warned and a backup copy of the email address will be

8033

used. You may want to create a new entry in this case, since you

8034

will get the annoying warning every time you use the old entry.

8035

You may do that by Saving the entry to a new nickname in the

8036

same address book. You will be asked whether or not you want to

8037

use the backup email address.

8038

A related feature in the Setup/Config screen is

8039

ldap-result-to-addrbook-add.

8040

_disable-ad-hoc-space-substitution_

8041

Spaces in your input are normally handled specially. Each space

8042

character is replaced by

8043

* <SPACE>

8044

8045

in the search query (but not by "* <SPACE> *"). The reason this

8046

is done is so the input string

8047

Greg Donald

8048

8049

(which is converted to "Greg* Donald") will match the names

8050

"Greg Donald", "Gregory Donald", "Greg F. Donald", and "Gregory

8051

F Donald"; but it won't match "Greg McDonald". If the

8052

"Search-Rule" you were using was "begins-with", then it would

8053

also match the name "Greg Donaldson".

8054

Turning on this feature will disable this substitution.

8055

_search-type_

8056

This affects the way that LDAP searches are done. In particular,

8057

this tells the server where to look for the string to be

8058

matched. If set to "name" then the string that is being searched

8059

for will be compared with the string in the "Name" field on the

8060

server (technically, it is the "commonname" field on the

8061

server). "Surname" means we're looking for a match in the

8062

"Surname" field on the server (actually the "sn" field).

8063

"Givenname" really is "givenname" and "email" is the electronic

8064

mail address (this is actually the field called "mail" or

8065

"electronicmail" on the server). The other three types are

8066

combinations of the types listed so far. "Name-or-email" means

8067

the string should appear in either the "name" field OR the

8068

"email" field. Likewise, "surname-or-givenname" means "surname"

8069

OR "givenname" and "sur-or-given-or-name-or-email" means the

8070

obvious thing.

8071

This search _type_ is combined with the search rule to form the

8072

actual search query.

8073

The usual default value for this option is

8074

"sur-or-given-or-name-or-email". This type of search may be slow

8075

on some servers. Try "name-or-email", which is often faster, or

8076

just "name" if the performance seems to be a problem.

8077

Some servers have been configured with different attribute names

8078

for these four fields. In other words, instead of using the

8079

attribute name "mail" for the email address field, the server

8080

might be configured to use something else, for example,

8081

"rfc822mail" or "internetemailaddress". _Alpine_ can be

8082

configured to use these different attribute names by using the

8083

four per-server configuration options:

8084

+ email-attribute

8085

+ name-attribute

8086

+ surname-attribute

8087

+ givenname-attribute

8088

_search-rule_

8089

This affects the way that LDAP searches are done. If set to

8090

"equals" then only exact matches count. "Contains" means that

8091

the string you type in is a substring of what you are matching

8092

against. "Begins-with" and "ends-with" mean that the string

8093

starts or ends with the string you type in.

8094

Spaces in your input are normally handled specially, but you can

8095

turn that special handling off with the

8096

disable-ad-hoc-space-substitution feature.

8097

The usual default value for this option is _begins-with_.

8098

_email-attribute_

8099

This is the name of the attribute which is searched for when

8100

looking for an email address. The default value for this option

8101

is "mail" or "electronicmail". If the server you are using uses

8102

a different attribute name for the email address, put that

8103

attribute name here.

8104

This will affect the search filter used if your Search-Type is

8105

one that contains a search for "email". It will also cause the

8106

attribute value matching this attribute name to be used as the

8107

email address when you look up an entry from the composer.

8108

_name-attribute_

8109

This is the name of the attribute which is searched for when

8110

looking for the name of the entry. The default value for this

8111

option is "cn", which stands for common name. If the server you

8112

are using uses a different attribute name for the name, put that

8113

attribute name here. This will affect the search filter used if

8114

your Search-Type is one that contains a search for "name".

8115

_surname-attribute_

8116

This is the name of the attribute which is searched for when

8117

looking for the surname of the entry. The default value for this

8118

option is "sn". If the server you are using uses a different

8119

attribute name for the surname, put that attribute name here.

8120

This will affect the search filter used if your Search-Type is

8121

one that contains a search for "surname".

8122

_givenname-attribute_

8123

This is the name of the attribute which is searched for when

8124

looking for the given name of the entry. The default value for

8125

this option is "givenname". If the server you are using uses a

8126

different attribute name for the given name, put that attribute

8127

name here. This will affect the search filter used if your

8128

Search-Type is one that contains a search for "givenname".

8129

_timelimit_

8130

This places a limit on the number of seconds the LDAP search

8131

will continue. The default is 30 seconds. A value of 0 means no

8132

limit. Note that some servers may place limits of their own on

8133

searches.

8134

_sizelimit_

8135

This places a limit on the number of entries returned by the

8136

LDAP server. A value of 0 means no limit. The default is 0. Note

8137

that some servers may place limits of their own on searches.

8138

_custom-search-filter_

8139

This one is for advanced users only! If you define this, then

8140

the search-type and search-rule defined are both ignored.

8141

However, the feature disable-ad-hoc-space-substitution is still

8142

in effect. That is, the space substitution will take place even

8143

in a custom filter unless you disable it.

8144

If your LDAP service stops working and you suspect it might be

8145

because of your custom filter, just delete this filter and try

8146

using the _search-type_ and _search-rule_ instead. Another

8147

option that sometimes causes trouble is the search-base option.

8148

This variable may be set to the string representation of an LDAP

8149

search filter (see RFC1960). In the places where you want the

8150

address string to be substituted in, put a '%s' in this filter

8151

string. Here are some examples:

8152

A "Search-Type" of "name" with "Search-Rule" of "begins-with" is

8153

equivalent to the "custom-search-filter"

8154

(cn=%s*)

8155

8156

When you try to match against the string "string" the program

8157

replaces the "%s" with "string" (without the quotes). You may

8158

have multiple "%s"'s and they will all be replaced with the

8159

string. There is a limit of 10 "%s"'s.

8160

A "Search-Type" of "name-or-email" with "Search-Rule" of

8161

"contains" is equivalent to

8162

(|(cn=*%s*)(mail=*%s*))

8163

8164

If your server uses a different attribute _name_ than _Alpine_

8165

uses by default, (for example, it uses "rfc822mail" instead of

8166

"mail"), then you may be able to use one or more of the four

8167

attribute configuration options instead of defining a custom

8168

filter:

8169

+ email-attribute

8170

+ name-attribute

8171

+ surname-attribute

8172

+ givenname-attribute

8173

8174

Color Configuration

8175

8176

If the terminal or terminal emulator you are using is capable of using

8177

color (see color-style option), or if you are using _PC-Alpine_, then

8178

it is possible to set up _Alpine_ so that various parts of the display

8179

will be shown in colors you configure. This is done using the Setup

8180

Color screen. The Setup Color screen is divided into five broad

8181

sections: Options, General Colors, Index Colors, Header Colors, and

8182

Keyword Colors. In addition to these five categories you may also color

8183

lines in the MESSAGE INDEX screen by configuring the Index Line Color.

8184

8185

Each color is defined as a foreground color (the color of the actual

8186

text) and a background color (the color of the area behind the text).

8187

8188

Color Options

8189

8190

_current-indexline-style_

8191

This option affects the colors used to display the current line

8192

in the MESSAGE INDEX screen. If you do not have Index Line

8193

Colors defined, then this option will have no effect in the

8194

index. Those Rules may be defined by going to the

8195

Setup/Rules/Indexcolor screen.

8196

8197

If the option enable-incoming-folders-checking is turned on and

8198

the Incoming Unseen Color is set to something other than the

8199

default, then this option also affects the color used to display

8200

the current folder in the Incoming FOLDER LIST screen.

8201

8202

The available options include:

8203

8204

flip-colors

8205

This is the default. If an index line is colored because

8206

it matches one of your Index Color Rules, then its colors

8207

will be reversed when it is the currently highlighted

8208

line. For example, if the line is normally red text on a

8209

blue background, then when it is the current line it will

8210

be drawn as blue text on a red background.

8211

8212

The rest of the option values all revert to this

8213

flip-colors behavior if there is no Reverse Color defined.

8214

8215

reverse

8216

With this option the Reverse color is always used to

8217

highlight the current line.

8218

8219

reverse-fg

8220

The foreground part of the Reverse Color is used to

8221

highlight the current line. If this would cause the text

8222

to be unreadable (because the foreground and background

8223

colors are the same) or if it would cause no change in the

8224

color of the index line, then the colors are flipped

8225

instead.

8226

8227

Some people think this works particularly well if you use

8228

different background colors to emphasize "interesting"

8229

lines, but always with the same Normal foreground color,

8230

and you use a different foreground color for the Reverse

8231

Color.

8232

8233

reverse-fg-no-ambiguity

8234

With the "reverse-fg" rule above, it is possible that the

8235

resulting color will be exactly the same as the regular

8236

Reverse Color. That can lead to some possible confusion

8237

because an "interesting" line which is the current line

8238

will be displayed exactly the same as a non-interesting

8239

line which is current. You can't tell whether the line is

8240

just a regular current line or if it is an "interesting"

8241

current line by looking at the color. Setting the option

8242

to this value removes that ambiguity. It is the same as

8243

the "reverse-fg" setting unless the resulting interesting

8244

current line would look just like a non-interesting

8245

current line. In that case, the interesting line's colors

8246

are simply flipped (like in the default behavior).

8247

8248

As an alternative way to preserve the line's

8249

interestingness in this case, you may find that using both

8250

a different foreground and a different background color

8251

for the interesting line will help.

8252

8253

reverse-bg

8254

The background part of the Reverse Color is used to

8255

highlight the current line. If this would cause the text

8256

to be unreadable (because the foreground and background

8257

colors are the same) or if it would cause no change in the

8258

color of the index line, then the colors are flipped

8259

instead.

8260

8261

Some people think this works particularly well if you use

8262

different foreground colors to emphasize "interesting"

8263

lines, but always with the same Normal background color,

8264

and you use a different background color for the Reverse

8265

Color.

8266

8267

reverse-bg-no-ambiguity

8268

As with the "reverse-fg" case, the "reverse-bg" rule may

8269

also result in a color which is exactly the same as the

8270

regular Reverse Color. Setting the option to this value

8271

removes that ambiguity. It is the same as the "reverse-bg"

8272

setting unless the resulting current line has the same

8273

color as the Reverse Color. In that case, the interesting

8274

line's colors are simply flipped (like in the default

8275

behavior).

8276

8277

_titlebar-color-style_

8278

This option affects the colors used to display the titlebar (the

8279

top line on the screen) when viewing a message.

8280

8281

The available options include:

8282

8283

default

8284

The color of the titlebar will be the color you set for

8285

the Title Color. The Title Color may be set by using the

8286

8287

indexline

8288

The color of the titlebar will be the same as the color of

8289

the index line corresponding to the message being viewed.

8290

The rules which determine what color the index line will

8291

be may be set up by going to the Setup/Rules/Indexcolor

8292

screen. If the index line for a message is not colored

8293

explicitly by the Indexcolor rules, then the titlebar will

8294

be colored the same as for the "default" option above

8295

(which is not the same color that the index line itself

8296

will have).

8297

8298

reverse-indexline

8299

This is similar to the "indexline" option except the

8300

foreground and background colors from the corresponding

8301

index line will be reversed. For example, if the index

8302

line color is red letters on a white background, then the

8303

titlebar will be white letters on a red background. If the

8304

index line for a message is not colored explicitly by the

8305

Indexcolor rules, then the titlebar will be colored the

8306

same as for the "default" option above (which is not the

8307

same color that the index line itself will have).

8308

8309

General Colors

8310

8311

_Normal Color_

8312

This is the color which most of the screen is painted in. By

8313

default this color is black characters on a white background.

8314

_Reverse Color_

8315

The color _Alpine_ uses for reverse video characters. Actually,

8316

the name is misleading. This used to be reverse video and so the

8317

name remains. It is still used to highlight certain parts of the

8318

screen but the color may be set to whatever you'd like.

8319

_Title Color_

8320

The color _Alpine_ uses for the titlebar (the top line on the

8321

screen). By default, the Title Color is black characters on a

8322

yellow background. The actual titlebar color may be different

8323

from the Title Color if the option titlebar-color-style is set

8324

to some value other than the default. It may also be different

8325

if the current folder is closed and the Title Closed Color is

8326

set to something different from the Title Color.

8327

_Title-closed Color_

8328

The color _Alpine_ uses for the titlebar (the top line on the

8329

screen) when the current folder is closed. By default, the Title

8330

Color Closed Color is white characters on a red background.

8331

_Status Color_

8332

The color _Alpine_ uses for messages written to the status

8333

message line near the bottom of the screen. By default, the

8334

Status Color is the same as the Reverse Color.

8335

_KeyLabel Color_

8336

The color _Alpine_ uses for the labels of the commands in the

8337

two-line menu at the bottom of the screen. The label is the long

8338

name, for example, "PrevMsg". By default, the KeyLabel Color is

8339

the same as the Normal Color.

8340

WARNING: Some terminal emulators have the property that the

8341

screen will scroll down one line whenever a character is written

8342

to the character cell in the lower right corner of the screen.

8343

_Alpine_ can usually avoid writing a character in that corner of

8344

the screen. However, if you have defined a KeyLabel Color then

8345

_Alpine_ does have to write a character in that cell in order to

8346

color the cell correctly. If you find that your display

8347

sometimes scrolls up a line this could be the problem. The most

8348

obvious symptom is probably that the titlebar at the top of the

8349

screen scrolls off the screen. Try setting KeyLabel Color to

8350

Default to see if that fixes the problem.

8351

_KeyName Color_

8352

The color _Alpine_ uses for the names of the commands in the

8353

two-line menu at the bottom of the screen. The KeyName is the

8354

shorter name in the menu. For example, the "W" before the

8355

"WhereIs". By default, the KeyName Color is the same as the

8356

Normal Color.

8357

_Selectable-item Color_

8358

The color _Alpine_ uses for displaying selectable items, such as

8359

URLs. By default, the Selectable-item Color is the same as the

8360

Normal Color, except it is also Bold.

8361

_Meta-message Color_

8362

The color _Alpine_ uses in the MESSAGE TEXT screen for messages

8363

to you that aren't part of the message itself. By default, the

8364

Meta-Message Color is black characters on a yellow background.

8365

_Quote Colors_

8366

The colors _Alpine_ uses for coloring quoted text in the MESSAGE

8367

TEXT screen. If a line begins with a > character (or space

8368

followed by >) it is considered a quote. That line will be given

8369

the Quote1 Color (first level quote). If there is a second level

8370

of quoting then the Quote2 Color will be used. _Alpine_

8371

considers there to be a second level of quoting if that first >

8372

is followed by another > (or space followed by >). If there are

8373

characters other than whitespace and > signs, then it isn't

8374

considered another level of quoting. Similarly, if there is a

8375

third level of quoting the Quote3 Color will be used. If there

8376

are more levels after that the Quote Colors are reused. If you

8377

define all three colors then it would repeat like Color1,

8378

Color2, Color3, Color1, Color2, Color3, ... If you only define

8379

the first two it would be Color1, Color2, Color1, Color2, ... If

8380

you define only the Quote1 Color, then the entire quote would be

8381

that color regardless of the quoting levels. By default, the

8382

Quote1 Color is black characters on a greenish-blue background;

8383

the Quote2 Color is black characters on a dull yellow

8384

background; and the Quote3 Color is black characters on a green

8385

background.

8386

_Incoming Unseen Color_

8387

If the option enable-incoming-folders-checking is turned on it

8388

is possible to highlight the folders that contain unseen

8389

messages by coloring them with this color. By default, this is

8390

the same as the Normal Color and no highlighting is done.

8391

Usually the "current" folder (the folder the cursor is on) is

8392

highlighted using reverse video. If the current folder is

8393

colored because it contains unseen messages then the color used

8394

to show that it is also the current folder is controlled by the

8395

current-indexline-style feature at the top of the SETUP COLOR

8396

screen.

8397

_Signature Color_

8398

The color _Alpine_ uses for coloring the signature in the

8399

MESSAGE TEXT screen. According to USENET conventions, the

8400

signature is defined as the paragraph following the "sigdashes",

8401

that is, the special line consisting of the three characters

8402

"-- " (i.e., dash, dash, and space). _Alpine_ allows for one

8403

empty line right after the sigdashes to be considered as part of

8404

the signature. By default, the Signature Color is blue

8405

characters on a white background.

8406

_Prompt Color_

8407

The color _Alpine_ uses for confirmation prompts and questions

8408

which appear in the status message line near the bottom of the

8409

screen. By default, the Prompt Color is the same as the Reverse

8410

Color.

8411

8412

Index Colors

8413

8414

You may add color to the single character symbols which give the status

8415

of each message in the MESSAGE INDEX. By default the characters "+",

8416

"*", "D", "A", and "N" show up near the left hand side of the screen,

8417

depending on whether the message is addressed to you, and whether the

8418

message is marked Important, is Deleted, is Answered, or is New. You

8419

may set the color of those symbols. By default, all of these symbols

8420

are drawn with the same color as the rest of the index line they are a

8421

part of.

8422

8423

Besides coloring the message status symbols, you may also color the

8424

entire index line. This is done by using the Index Line Color

8425

configuration screen. It is also possible to color (keywords in the

8426

index using the Setup/Kolor screen (Keyword Colors); the ARROW cursor;

8427

the Subject using Index Subject Color; the From using Index From Color;

8428

and the Index Opening text.

8429

8430

_Index-to-me Symbol Color_

8431

The color used for drawing the "+" symbol which signifies a

8432

message is addressed directly to you.

8433

_Index-important Symbol Color_

8434

The color used for drawing the "*" symbol which signifies a

8435

message has been flagged Important.

8436

_Index-deleted Symbol Color_

8437

The color used for drawing the "D" symbol which signifies a

8438

message has been marked Deleted.

8439

_Index-answered Symbol Color_

8440

The color used for drawing the "A" symbol which signifies a

8441

message has been answered.

8442

_Index-new Symbol Color_

8443

The color used for drawing the "N" symbol which signifies a

8444

message is New.

8445

_Index-recent Symbol Color_

8446

The color used for drawing the "R" symbol which signifies a

8447

message is Recent (only visible if the "IMAPSTATUS" or

8448

"SHORTIMAPSTATUS" token is part of the index-format option).

8449

_Index-unseen Symbol Color_

8450

The color used for drawing the "U" symbol which signifies a

8451

message is Unseen (only visible if the "IMAPSTATUS" or

8452

"SHORTIMAPSTATUS" token is part of the Index-Format option).

8453

_Index-priority Symbol Colors_

8454

The colors used for drawing the tokens "PRIORITY",

8455

"PRIORITYALPHA", and "PRIORITY!" when these are configured as

8456

part of the Index-Format option. You may set the color used to

8457

draw these tokens by use of the colors Index High Priority

8458

Symbol Color and Index Low Priority Symbol Color. This coloring

8459

takes place for all but the current index line, and the Priority

8460

Color appears to be in front of any color from an Index Color

8461

Rule. If the priority has a value of 1 or 2 the High Priority

8462

color will be used, and if the value is 4 or 5 the Low Priority

8463

color will be used.

8464

If you don't set these colors the index line will be colored in

8465

the same color as the bulk of the index line.

8466

_Index-arrow Symbol Color_

8467

The color used for drawing the "ARROW" token when it is

8468

configured as part of the Index-Format option.

8469

_Index-subject Symbol Color_

8470

You may set the color used to draw the Subject part of the index

8471

line. This coloring takes place for all but the current index

8472

line, and the Subject Color appears to be in front of any color

8473

from an Index Color Rule.

8474

If you don't set this color it will be colored in the same color

8475

as the bulk of the index line.

8476

_Index-from Symbol Color_

8477

You may set the color used to draw the From part of the index

8478

line. This coloring takes place for all but the current index

8479

line, and the From Color appears to be in front of any color

8480

from an Index Color Rule.

8481

If you don't set this color it will be colored in the same color

8482

as the bulk of the index line.

8483

_Index-opening Symbol Color_

8484

It is possible to configure the Index-Format option so that it

8485

includes the subject followed by the "opening" text of the

8486

message if there is enough space. This is done by using one of

8487

the tokens SUBJECTTEXT, SUBJKEYTEXT, or SUBJKEYINITTEXT. The

8488

color used for drawing this opening text is given by this

8489

option. The coloring happens for all but the current index line,

8490

and this opening color appears to be in front of any color from

8491

an Index Color Rule.

8492

By default the Index Opening Color is gray characters on a white

8493

background.

8494

8495

The default colors for these symbols are:

8496

8497

Index-to-me black on cyan

8498

Index-important white on bright red

8499

Index-deleted same as Normal Color

8500

Index-answered bright red on yellow

8501

Index-new white on magenta

8502

Index-recent same as Normal Color

8503

Index-unseen same as Normal Color

8504

8505

Header Colors

8506

8507

You may add color to the header fields in the MESSAGE TEXT screen. The

8508

8509

_Header-general Color_

8510

may be used to color all of the headers of the message.

8511

8512

It is also possible to set the colors for specific header fields, for

8513

example for the Subject or From fields, using the viewer-hdr-colors

8514

option.

8515

8516

For Header Colors, there is an additional line on the configuration

8517

screen labeled "Pattern to match". If you leave that blank, then the

8518

whole field for that header will always be colored. However, if you

8519

give a pattern to match, the coloring will only take place if there is

8520

a match for that pattern in the value of the field. For example, if you

8521

are working on a color for the Subject header and you fill in a pattern

8522

of "important", then only Subjects which contain the word "important"

8523

will be colored. For address fields like From or To, a pattern match

8524

will cause only the addresses which match the pattern to be colored.

8525

8526

If the pattern you enter is a comma-separated list of patterns, then

8527

coloring happens if any of those patterns matches.

8528

8529

Keyword Colors

8530

8531

Sets the colors _Alpine_ uses for Keyword fields in the MESSAGE INDEX

8532

screen. Keywords may be displayed as part of the Subject of a message

8533

by using the "SUBJKEY" or "SUBJKEYINIT" tokens in the Index-Format

8534

option. Keywords may also be displayed in a column of their own in the

8535

MESSAGE INDEX screen by using the "KEY" or "KEYINIT" tokens.

8536

8537

For example, you might have set up a Keyword "Work" using the Keywords

8538

option in the Setup/Config screen. You could cause that Keyword to show

8539

up as a special color by setting up the Keyword Color using this

8540

option, and then including it in the MESSAGE INDEX screen using one of

8541

the tokens listed above in the Index-Format.

8542

8543

Index Line Colors

8544

8545

You may color whole index lines by using roles. This isn't configured

8546

in the Setup Colors screen, but is configured in the Setup Rules

8547

IndexColor screen.

8548

8549

Index Line Color Configuration

8550

8551

Index Line Color causes lines in the MESSAGE INDEX screen to be

8552

colored. This action is only available if your terminal is capable of

8553

displaying color and color display has been enabled with the

8554

Color-Style option. (In PC-Alpine, color is always enabled so there is

8555

no option to turn on.)

8556

8557

Each rule has a "Pattern", which is used to decide which of the rules

8558

is used; and the color which is used if the Pattern matches a

8559

particular message.

8560

8561

Rule Patterns

8562

8563

In order to determine whether or not a message matches a rule the

8564

message is compared with the rule's Pattern. These Patterns are the

8565

same for use with Roles, Filtering, Index Coloring, Scoring, Other

8566

Rules, and Search Rules, so are described in only one place, "here".

8567

8568

Index Line Color

8569

8570

This is the color that index lines are colored when there is a matching

8571

Pattern. This colors the whole index line, except possibly the status

8572

letters which may be colored separately using the Setup Kolor screen.

8573

8574

Role Configuration

8575

8576

You may play different roles depending on who you are replying to. For

8577

example, if you are replying to a message addressed to _help-desk_ you

8578

may be acting as a Help Desk Worker. That role may require that you use

8579

a different return address and/or a different signature.

8580

8581

Roles are optional. If you set up roles they work like this: Each role

8582

has a set of "Uses", which indicate whether or not a role is eligible

8583

to be considered for a particular use; a "Pattern", which is used to

8584

decide which of the eligible roles is used; and a set of "Actions",

8585

which are taken when that role is used. When you reply to a message,

8586

the message you are replying to is compared with the Patterns of the

8587

roles marked as eligible for use when replying. The comparisons start

8588

with the first eligible role and keep going until there is a match. If

8589

a match is found, the matching role's Actions are taken.

8590

8591

It is also possible to set a default role and to change that role

8592

during your _Alpine_ session. When you start _Alpine_ no default role

8593

will be set. You may set or change the current default role by using

8594

the "D" command in the role selection screen. You'll see that screen

8595

while composing a message and being asked to select a role. An easy way

8596

to get to that screen is to use the Role Command to compose a message.

8597

You may find a default role useful if you normally perform the duties

8598

of one of your roles for a while, then you switch to another role and

8599

stay in the new role for another period of time. It may be easier than

8600

using the Role Command to select the role each time you compose a

8601

message.

8602

8603

Role Uses

8604

8605

There are three types of use to be configured; one for Replying, one

8606

for Forwarding, and one for Composing. These indicate whether or not

8607

you want a role to be considered when you type the Reply, Forward, or

8608

Compose commands. (The Role command is an alternate form of the Compose

8609

command, and it is not affected by these settings.) Each of these Use

8610

types has three possible values. The value "Never" means that the role

8611

will never be considered as a candidate for use with the corresponding

8612

command. For example, if you set a role's Reply Use to Never, then when

8613

you Reply to a message, the role won't even be considered. (That isn't

8614

quite true. If the message you are replying to matches some other role

8615

which requires confirmation, then there will be a ^T command available

8616

which allows you to select a role from all of your roles, not just the

8617

reply-eligible roles.)

8618

8619

The options "With confirmation" and "Without confirmation" both mean

8620

that you do want to consider this role when using the corresponding

8621

command. For either of these settings the role's Pattern will be

8622

checked to see if it matches the message. For Reply Use, the message

8623

used to compare the Patterns with is the message being replied to. For

8624

Forward Use, the message used to compare the Pattern with is the

8625

message being forwarded. For Compose Use, there is no message, so the

8626

parts of the Pattern which depend on a message (everything other than

8627

Current Folder Type) are ignored. In all cases, the Current Folder is

8628

checked if defined. If there is a match then this role will either be

8629

used without confirmation or will be the default when confirmation is

8630

asked for, depending on which of the two options is selected. If

8631

confirmation is requested, you will have a chance to choose No Role

8632

instead of the offered role, or to change the role to any one of your

8633

other roles (with the ^T command).

8634

8635

Role Patterns

8636

8637

In order to determine whether or not a message matches a role the

8638

message is compared with the Role Pattern. These Patterns are the same

8639

for use with Roles, Filtering, Index Coloring, Scoring, Other Rules,

8640

and Search Rules, so are described in only one place, "here".

8641

8642

Since header patterns, AllText patterns, and BodyText patterns which

8643

are unset are ignored, a role which has all header patterns unset, the

8644

AllText pattern unset, the BodyText pattern unset, the Score Interval

8645

unset, and the Current Folder Type set to "Any" may be used as a

8646

default role. It should be put last in the list of roles since the

8647

matching starts at the beginning and proceeds until one of the roles is

8648

a match. If no roles at all match, then _Alpine_ will use its regular

8649

methods of defining the role. If you wanted to, you could define a

8650

different "default" role for Replying, Forwarding, and Composing by

8651

setting the "Use" fields appropriately.

8652

8653

Role Actions

8654

8655

Once a role match is found, the role's Actions are taken. For each role

8656

there are several possible actions that may be defined. They are

8657

actions to set the From address, the Reply-To address, the Fcc, the

8658

Signature file, and the Template file.

8659

8660

Initialize Settings Using Role

8661

8662

This is a power user feature. You will usually want to leave this field

8663

empty. The value of this field is the nickname of another one of your

8664

roles. The Action values from that other role are used as the initial

8665

values of the Action items for this role. If you put something in any

8666

of the action fields for this role, that will override whatever was in

8667

the corresponding field of the initializer role.

8668

8669

You might use this field if the "Action" part of one of your roles is

8670

something you want to use in more than one role. Instead of filling in

8671

those action values again for each role, you may give the nickname of

8672

the role where the values are filled in. It's just a shortcut way to

8673

define Role Actions.

8674

8675

Here's an example to help explain how this works. Suppose you have a

8676

role with nickname "role1" and role1 has (among other things)

8677

8678

Set Reply-To = The Pres <president@example.com>

8679

8680

set. If in "role2" you set "Initialize settings using role" to "role1",

8681

then role2 will inherit the Set Reply-To value from role1 by default

8682

(and any of the other inheritable action values that are set). So if

8683

role2 had

8684

8685

Set Reply-To = <No Value Set>

8686

8687

defined, the Reply-To used with role2 would be "The Pres

8688

<president@example.com>" However, if role2 had

8689

8690

Set Reply-To = VP <vicepresident@example.com>

8691

8692

defined, then the Reply-To used with role2 would be "VP

8693

<vicepresident@example.com>" instead.

8694

8695

If you wish, you may choose a nickname from your list of roles by using

8696

the "T" command. If the role you are using to initialize also has a

8697

role it initializes from, then that initialization happens first. That

8698

is, inheritance works as expected with the grandparent and

8699

great-grandparent (and so on) roles having the expected effect.

8700

8701

Set From

8702

8703

This field consists of a single address which will be used as the From

8704

address on the message you are sending. This should be a

8705

fully-qualified address like

8706

8707

Full Name <user@domain>

8708

8709

or just

8710

8711

user@domain

8712

8713

If this is left blank, then the normal From address will be used.

8714

8715

Set Reply-To

8716

8717

The Reply-To address is the address used on the Reply-To line of the

8718

message you are sending. You don't need a Reply-To address unless it is

8719

different from the From address. This should be a fully-qualified

8720

address like

8721

8722

Full Name <user@domain>

8723

8724

or just

8725

8726

user@domain

8727

8728

If this is left blank, then there won't be a Reply-To address unless

8729

you have configured one specially with the customized-hdrs

8730

configuration option.

8731

8732

Set Other-Hdrs

8733

8734

This field gives you a way to set values for headers besides "From" and

8735

"Reply-To". If you want to set either of those, use the specific "Set

8736

From" and "Set Reply-To" settings.

8737

8738

This field is similar to the customized-hdrs option. Each header you

8739

specify here must include the header tag ("To:", "Approved:", etc.) and

8740

may optionally include a value for that header. In order to see these

8741

headers when you compose using this role you must use the rich header

8742

command. Here's an example which shows how you might set the To

8743

address.

8744

8745

Set Other Hdrs = To: Full Name <user@domain>

8746

8747

Headers set in this way are different from headers set with the

8748

customized-hdrs option in that the value you give for a header here

8749

will replace any value that already exists. For example, if you are

8750

Replying to a message there will already be at least one address in the

8751

To header (the address you are Replying to). However, if you Reply

8752

using a role which sets the To header, that role's To header value will

8753

be used instead. The customized-hdrs headers are defaults.

8754

8755

Limitation: Because commas are used to separate the list of Other

8756

Headers, it is not possible to have the value of a header contain a

8757

comma; nor is there currently an "escape" mechanism provided to make

8758

this work.

8759

8760

Set Fcc

8761

8762

This field consists of a single folder name which will be used in the

8763

Fcc field of the message you are sending. You may put anything here

8764

that you would normally type into the Fcc field from the composer.

8765

8766

In addition, an fcc of "" (two double quotation marks) means no Fcc.

8767

8768

A blank field here means that _Alpine_ will use its normal rules for

8769

deciding the default value of the Fcc field. For many roles, perhaps

8770

most, it may make more sense for you to use the other _Alpine_

8771

facilities for setting the Fcc. In particular, if you want the Fcc to

8772

depend on who you are sending the message to then the fcc-name-rule is

8773

probably more useful. In that case, you would want to leave the Fcc

8774

field here blank. However, if you have a role that depends on who the

8775

message you are replying to was From, or what address that message was

8776

sent to; then it might make sense to set the Fcc for that role here.

8777

8778

Set LiteralSig

8779

8780

This field contains the actual text for your signature, as opposed to

8781

the name of a file containing your signature. If this is defined it

8782

takes precedence over any value set in the _Set Signature_ field.

8783

8784

This is simply a different way to store the signature. The signature is

8785

stored inside your Alpine configuration file instead of in a separate

8786

signature file. Tokens work the same way they do with _Set Signature_.

8787

8788

The two character sequence \n (backslash followed by the character n)

8789

will be used to signify a line-break in your signature. You don't have

8790

to enter the \n, but it will be visible in the CHANGE THIS ROLE RULE

8791

window after you are done editing the signature.

8792

8793

Set Signature

8794

8795

The Signature is the name of a file to be used as the signature file

8796

when this role is being used. If the filename is followed by a vertical

8797

bar (|) then instead of reading the contents of the file the file is

8798

assumed to be a program which will produce the text to be used on its

8799

standard output. The program can't have any arguments and doesn't

8800

receive any input from _Alpine_, but the rest of the processing works

8801

as if the contents came from a file.

8802

8803

Signature files may be stored remotely on an IMAP server. In order to

8804

do that you just give the file a remote name. This works just like the

8805

regular signature-file option which is configured from the

8806

Setup/Configuration screen. A remote signature file name might look

8807

like:

8808

8809

{myimaphost.myschool.k12.wa.us}mail/sig3

8810

8811

or, if you have an SSL-capable version of _Alpine_, you might try

8812

8813

{myimaphost.myschool.k12.wa.us/user=loginname/ssl}mail/sig3

8814

8815

Once you have named the remote signature file you create its contents

8816

by using the "F" "editFile" command when the cursor is on the "Set

8817

Signature" line of the role editor.

8818

8819

Besides containing regular text, a signature file may also contain (or

8820

a signature program may produce) tokens which are replaced with text

8821

which depends on the message you are replying to or forwarding. The

8822

tokens all look like _word_ (a word surrounded by underscores). For

8823

example, if the token

8824

8825

_DATE_

8826

8827

is included in the text of the signature file, then when you reply to

8828

or forward a message, the token will be replaced with the actual date

8829

the message you are replying to or forwarding was sent.

8830

8831

If you use a role which has a signature file for a plain composition

8832

(that is, not a reply or forward) then there is no original message, so

8833

any tokens which depend on the message will be replaced with nothing.

8834

So if you want a signature file to be useful for new compositions it

8835

shouldn't include any of the tokens which depend on the message being

8836

replied to or forwarded.

8837

8838

The list of available tokens is here.

8839

8840

Actually, for the adventurous, there is a way to conditionally include

8841

text based on whether or not a token would result in specific

8842

replacement text. For example, you could include some text based on

8843

whether or not the _NEWS_ token would result in any newsgroups if it

8844

was used. It's explained in detail here.

8845

8846

In the very unlikely event that you want to include a literal token in

8847

a signature file, you must precede it with a backslash character. For

8848

example, to include the literal text _DATE_ you must actually use

8849

\_DATE_. It is not possible to have a literal backslash followed by an

8850

expanded token.

8851

8852

A blank field here means that _Alpine_ will use its normal rules for

8853

deciding which file (if any) to use for the signature file.

8854

8855

Set Template

8856

8857

A Template is the name of a file to be included in the message when

8858

this role is being used. The template file is a file which is included

8859

at the top of the message you are composing.

8860

8861

If the filename is followed by a vertical bar (|) then instead of

8862

reading the contents of the file the file is assumed to be a program

8863

which will produce the text to be used on its standard output. The

8864

program can't have any arguments and doesn't receive any input from

8865

_Alpine_, but the rest of the processing works as if the contents came

8866

from a file.

8867

8868

Template files may be stored remotely on an IMAP server. In order to do

8869

that you just give the file a remote name. This works just like the

8870

regular signature-file option which is configured from the

8871

Setup/Configuration screen. A remote template file name might look

8872

like:

8873

8874

{myimaphost.myschool.k12.wa.us}mail/templ3

8875

8876

or, if you have an SSL-capable version of _Alpine_, you might try

8877

8878

{myimaphost.myschool.k12.wa.us/user=loginname/ssl}mail/templ3

8879

8880

Once you have named the remote template file you create its contents by

8881

using the "F" "editFile" command when the cursor is on the "Set

8882

Template" line of the role editor.

8883

8884

Besides containing regular text, a template file may also contain (or a

8885

template file program may produce) tokens which are replaced with text

8886

which depends on the message you are replying to or forwarding. The

8887

tokens all look like _word_ (a word surrounded by underscores). For

8888

example, if the token

8889

8890

_DATE_

8891

8892

is included in the text of the template file, then when you reply to or

8893

forward a message, the token will be replaced with the actual date the

8894

message you are replying to or forwarding was sent.

8895

8896

If you use a role which has a template file for a plain composition

8897

(that is, not a reply or forward) then there is no original message, so

8898

any tokens which depend on the message will be replaced with nothing.

8899

So if you want a template file to be useful for new compositions it

8900

shouldn't include any of the tokens which depend on the message being

8901

replied to or forwarded.

8902

8903

The list of available tokens is here.

8904

8905

Actually, for the adventurous, there is a way to conditionally include

8906

text based on whether or not a token would result in specific

8907

replacement text. For example, you could include some text based on

8908

whether or not the _NEWS_ token would result in any newsgroups if it

8909

was used. It's explained in detail here.

8910

8911

In the very unlikely event that you want to include a literal token in

8912

a template file, you must precede it with a backslash character. For

8913

example, to include the literal text _DATE_ you must actually use

8914

\_DATE_. It is not possible to have a literal backslash followed by an

8915

expanded token.

8916

8917

A blank field here means that _Alpine_ will not use a template file

8918

when this role is being used.

8919

8920

Use SMTP Server

8921

8922

If this field has a value, then it will be used as the SMTP server to

8923

send mail when this role is being used (unless the SMTP server variable

8924

is set in the system-wide fixed configuration file). It has the same

8925

semantics as the smtp-server variable in the Setup/Config screen. When

8926

you postpone the composition this SMTP server list will be saved with

8927

the postponed composition and it cannot be changed later. Because of

8928

that, you may want to make this a list of SMTP servers with the

8929

preferred server at the front of the list and alternate servers later

8930

in the list.

8931

8932

If any of the actions are left unset, then the action depends on what

8933

is present in the "Initialize settings using role" field. If you've

8934

listed the nickname of another one of your roles there, then the

8935

corresponding action from that role will be used here. If that action

8936

is also blank, or if there is no nickname specified, then _Alpine_ will

8937

do whatever it normally does to set these actions. This depends on

8938

other configuration options and features you've set.

8939

8940

Filtering Configuration

8941

8942

The software which actually delivers mail (the stuff that happens

8943

before _Alpine_ is involved) for you is in a better position to do mail

8944

filtering than _Alpine_ itself. If possible, you may want to look into

8945

using that sort of mail filtering to deliver mail to different folders,

8946

delete it, or forward it. However, if you'd like _Alpine_ to help with

8947

this, _Alpine_'s filtering is for you.

8948

8949

Filtering is a way to automatically move certain messages from one

8950

folder to another or to delete messages. It can also be used to set

8951

message status bits (Important, Deleted, New, Answered). _Alpine_

8952

doesn't have the ability to forward mail to another address.

8953

8954

Each filtering rule has a "Pattern" and a "Filter Action". When a

8955

folder is opened, when new mail arrives in an open folder, or when mail

8956

is Expunged from a folder; each message is compared with the Patterns

8957

of your filtering rules. The comparisons start with the first rule and

8958

keep going until there is a match. If a match is found, the message may

8959

be deleted or moved, depending on the setting of the Filter Action. If

8960

the message is not deleted, it may have its status altered.

8961

8962

For efficiency, each message is usually only checked once. When new

8963

mail arrives, the new messages are checked but not the old. There are

8964

some exceptions to this rule. The expunge command will cause all

8965

messages to be rechecked, as will editing of the filtering rules.

8966

8967

_NOTE:_ When setting up a Pattern used to delete messages, it is

8968

recommended that you test the Pattern first with a "Move" folder

8969

specified in case unintended matches occur. Messages that are deleted

8970

will be removed from the folder and _unrecoverable_ from within _Alpine_

8971

after the next Expunge command or once the folder being filtered has

8972

been closed.

8973

8974

Filter Patterns

8975

8976

In order to determine whether or not a message matches a filter the

8977

message is compared with the Filter's Pattern. These Patterns are the

8978

same for use with Roles, Filtering, Index Coloring, Scoring, Other

8979

Rules, and Search Rules, so are described in only one place, "here".

8980

8981

Since filtering is a potentially destructive action, if you have a

8982

filtering Pattern with nothing other than Current Folder Type set, that

8983

filtering rule is ignored.

8984

8985

Filter Actions

8986

8987

Once a filter match is found for a particular message, there are some

8988

actions which may be taken. First, the message may have its status

8989

changed. This is the same message status that you can manipulate

8990

manually using the Flag Command. There are four elements of message

8991

status that you can control. You can set or clear the Important status,

8992

the New status, the Deleted status, and the Answered status. Of course,

8993

if the filter is going to delete the message, then there is no point in

8994

setting message status. You may also set or clear user-defined keywords

8995

for a message.

8996

8997

Second, the filter may delete or move the message. Deleting the message

8998

marks it Deleted and removes it from view. It is effectively gone

8999

forever (though it technically is still there until the next expunge

9000

command, which may happen implicitly). Moving the message moves it from

9001

the open folder into the folder listed on the "Folder List" line of the

9002

filter configuration. If you list more than one folder name (separated

9003

by commas) then the message will be copied to each of those folders. In

9004

any case, if "Delete" or "Move" is set then the message is removed from

9005

the current folder. If you just want to set the messages status without

9006

deleting it from the folder, then set the filter action to "Just Set

9007

Message Status".

9008

9009

(There is no way to do a Copy instead of a Move, due to the

9010

difficulties involved in keeping track of whether or not a message has

9011

already been copied by a previous _Alpine_ session.)

9012

9013

Move-only-if-not-deleted option

9014

9015

If you have specified a Move to Folder to filter messages into, then

9016

this option has an effect. If this option is set then messages will

9017

only be moved into the specified folder if they aren't already marked

9018

deleted. This might be useful if you have more than one _Alpine_

9019

session running simultaneously and you don't want messages to be

9020

filtered into a folder more than once. This method is not foolproof.

9021

There may be cases where a message gets marked deleted and so it is

9022

never filtered into the folder. For example, if you deleted it in

9023

another _Alpine_ or another mail program that didn't know about the

9024

filtering rule.

9025

9026

This option has no effect if the Filter Action is not set to Move.

9027

9028

Dont-quit-even-if-rule-matches option

9029

9030

If this option is set then this is a non-terminating rule. Usually, for

9031

each message, _Alpine_ searches through the filter rules until a match

9032

is found and then it performs the action associated with that rule.

9033

Rules following the match are not considered. If this option is set

9034

then the search for matches will continue at the next rule.

9035

9036

If a non-terminating rule matches then the actions associated with that

9037

rule, except for any implied deletion of the message, are performed

9038

before the match for the next rule is checked. For example, if the

9039

non-terminating rule sets the Important status, then that status will

9040

be set when the next rule is considered. However, if the

9041

non-terminating rule Moves the message, the message will actually be

9042

copied instead of copied and deleted so that it is still there for the

9043

next rule. A moved message is deleted after all the relevant rules have

9044

been checked. The name of the "Move" action is confusing in this case

9045

because a single message can be moved to more than one folder. It turns

9046

the Move into a Copy instead, but it is still followed by a deletion at

9047

the end.

9048

9049

This option may be useful if you want to have a single message filtered

9050

to two different folders because it matches two different Patterns. For

9051

example, suppose you normally filter messages to a particular mailing

9052

list into one folder, and messages addressed directly to you into a

9053

second folder. If a message is sent to both you and the list (and you

9054

can tell that by looking at the headers of the message) this option may

9055

give you a convenient way to capture a copy to each folder. (It may

9056

also cause you to capture two copies to each folder, depending on

9057

whether your mail system delivers one or two copies of the message to

9058

you and on how the list works.)

9059

9060

Scoring Configuration

9061

9062

Most people will not use scores at all, but if you do use them, here's

9063

how they work in Alpine. Using this screen, you may define Scoring

9064

rules. The score for a message is calculated by looking at every Score

9065

rule defined and adding up the Score Values for the ones which match

9066

the message. If there are no matches for a message, it has a score of

9067

zero. Message scores may be used a couple of ways in Alpine.

9068

9069

Sorting by Score

9070

9071

One of the methods you may use to sort message indexes is to sort by

9072

score. The scores of all the messages in a folder will be calculated

9073

and then the index will be ordered by placing the messages in order of

9074

ascending or descending score.

9075

9076

Scores for use in Patterns

9077

9078

The Patterns used for Roles, Index Line Coloring, and Filtering have a

9079

category labeled "Score Interval". When a message is being compared

9080

with a Pattern to check for a match, if the Score Interval is set only

9081

messages which have a score somewhere in the interval are a match.

9082

9083

Scoring Rule Patterns

9084

9085

In order to determine whether or not a message matches a scoring rule

9086

the message is compared with the rule's Pattern. These Patterns are the

9087

same for use with Roles, Filtering, Index Coloring, Scoring, Other

9088

Rules, and Search Rules, so are described in only one place, "here".

9089

9090

Actually, Scoring rule Patterns are slightly different from the other

9091

types of Patterns because Scoring rule Patterns don't contain a Score

9092

Interval. In other words, when calculating the score for a message,

9093

which is done by looking at the Scoring rule Patterns, scores aren't

9094

used.

9095

9096

Score Value

9097

9098

This is the value that will be added to the score for a message if the

9099

rule's Pattern is a match. Each individual Score Value is an integer

9100

between -100 and 100, and the values from matching rules are added

9101

together to get a message's score. There is also a way to extract the

9102

value from a particular header of each message. See the help text for

9103

Score Value for further information.

9104

9105

Other Rules Configuration

9106

9107

Using this screen, you may define configuration Rules which don't fit

9108

nicely into the other Rules categories.

9109

9110

Other Rule Patterns

9111

9112

Other Rules are a little different from the rest of the Rules because

9113

they depend only on the current folder, and not on a particular

9114

message. In order to determine whether or not a rule's actions should

9115

be applied the current folder is compared with the rule's Pattern,

9116

which consists of only the Current Folder Type. Current Folder Type

9117

works the same for Other Rules as it does for Roles, Filtering, Index

9118

Coloring, and Scoring. Keep in mind that the only part of the Pattern

9119

which applies to Other Rules is the Current Folder Type when looking at

9120

the description of Patterns given "here".

9121

9122

Other Rule Actions

9123

9124

Once a pattern match is found, the rule's Actions are taken. Neither of

9125

the following two rule's depends on a message for its match. That means

9126

that all the parts of the Pattern which depend on matching an attribute

9127

of a message are ignored. So the only part of the Pattern that matters

9128

for these Actions is the Current Folder Type.

9129

9130

Set Sort Order

9131

9132

When you enter a new folder, these rules will be checked to see if you

9133

have set a sort order which is different from your default sort order.

9134

The default is set in the Setup/Config screen with the Sort-Key option.

9135

If the Sort Order action is set, then the folder will be displayed

9136

sorted in that sort order instead of in the default order.

9137

9138

A possible point of confusion arises when you change the configuration

9139

of the Sort Order for the currently open folder. The folder will

9140

normally be re-sorted when you go back to viewing the index. However,

9141

if you have manually sorted the folder with the Sort command, it will

9142

not be re-sorted.

9143

9144

Set Index Format

9145

9146

When you enter a new folder, these rules will be checked to see if you

9147

have set an Index Format which is different from your default Index

9148

Format, which is set with the Index-Format option. If so, the index

9149

will be displayed with this format instead of the default.

9150

9151

Set Startup Rule

9152

9153

When you enter a new folder, these rules will be checked to see if you

9154

have set a startup rule which is different from the default startup

9155

rule. The default for incoming folders is set in the Setup/Config

9156

screen with the "incoming-startup-rule" option. The default for folders

9157

other than INBOX that are not part of your incoming collection (see

9158

enable-incoming-folders feature) is to start with the last message in

9159

the folder. If the Startup Rule is set to something other than

9160

"default", then the rule will determine which message will be the

9161

current message when the folder is first opened.

9162

9163

The various startup rule possibilities work the same here as they do in

9164

the incoming collection, except that the folder can be any specific

9165

folder or any folder type.

9166

9167

Search Rules Configuration

9168

9169

One of the commands that becomes available when that feature is turned

9170

on is the "; Select" command, which is used in the MESSAGE INDEX screen

9171

to select a set of messages. One way of selecting messages is to use a

9172

Rule. All of the messages which match (or don't match if you wish) a

9173

Rule's Pattern will be selected.

9174

9175

Any of your Rules may be used for this purpose. You might already have

9176

Rules set up for filtering, index line color, scores, or roles; and you

9177

may use any of those Rules with the Select command. However, you might

9178

find it more convenient to set up a separate set of Rules just for this

9179

purpose without having to worry about what other effects they may

9180

cause. That is the purpose of these Select Rules.

9181

9182

Rule Patterns

9183

9184

In order to determine whether or not a message is selected by a rule

9185

the message is compared with the rule's Pattern. These Patterns are the

9186

same for use with Roles, Filtering, Index Coloring, Scoring, Other

9187

Rules, and Search Rules, so are described in only one place, "here".

9188

9189

There is no action associated with these Search Rules. Only their

9190

Patterns are used.

9191

9192

Patterns

9193

9194

Patterns are used with Roles, Filtering, Index Coloring, Scoring, Other

9195

Rules, and Search Rules. Patterns are compared with a message to see if

9196

there is a match. For Filtering, the messages being checked are all the

9197

messages in the folder, one at a time. For Index Line Coloring, each

9198

message that is visible on the screen is checked for matches with the

9199

Index Coloring Patterns. Roles are used with the Reply, Forward, and

9200

Compose commands. For Reply, the message used to compare the Pattern

9201

with is the message being replied to; for Forward, the message used to

9202

compare the Pattern with is the message being forwarded; and for

9203

Compose, there is no message, so the parts of the Pattern which depend

9204

on a message (everything other than Current Folder Type and the

9205

Beginning of Month and Year) are not used. Only the Current Folder Type

9206

matters for Compose (plus the Beginning of Month or Year, which you

9207

wouldn't usually use for a Role). For Scoring, the message being scored

9208

is compared with all of the Score Patterns, and the Score Values from

9209

the ones that match are added together to get the message's score. For

9210

Other Rules, there is no message. Only the Current Folder Type is

9211

checked for Other Rules.

9212

9213

Each Pattern has several possible parts, all of which are optional. In

9214

order for there to be a match, _ALL_ of the _defined_ parts of the

9215

Pattern must match the message. If a part is not defined it is

9216

considered a match. For example, if the To pattern is not defined it

9217

will be displayed as

9218

9219

To pattern = <No Value Set>

9220

9221

That is considered a match because it is not defined. This means that

9222

the Pattern with nothing defined is a match if the Current Folder Type

9223

matches, but there is an exception. Because filtering is a potentially

9224

destructive action, filtering Patterns with nothing other than Current

9225

Folder Type defined are ignored. If you really want a filtering Pattern

9226

to match all messages (subject to Current Folder Type) the best way to

9227

do it is to define a Score interval which includes all possible scores.

9228

This would be the score interval (-INF,INF). This can be used even if

9229

you haven't defined any rules to Set Scores.

9230

9231

There are six predefined header patterns called the To, From, Sender,

9232

Cc, News, and Subject patterns. Besides those six predefined header

9233

patterns, you may add additional header patterns with header fieldnames

9234

of your choosing. You add an extra header pattern by placing the cursor

9235

on one of the patterns while in the role editor and using the

9236

"eXtraHdr" command. The Recip pattern is a header pattern which stands

9237

for Recipient (To OR Cc) and the Partic pattern is a header pattern

9238

which stands for Participant (From OR To OR Cc). (Defining the Recip

9239

pattern does not have the same effect as defining both the To and Cc

9240

patterns. Recip is To _OR_ Cc, not To _AND_ Cc.) Similar to the header

9241

patterns are the AllText pattern and the BodyText pattern. Instead of

9242

comparing this pattern's text against only the contents of a particular

9243

header field, the text for the AllText pattern is compared with text

9244

anywhere in the message's header or body, and the text for the BodyText

9245

pattern is compared with text anywhere in the message's body.

9246

9247

Any of the header patterns, the AllText pattern, or the BodyText

9248

pattern may be negated with the "!" "toggle NOT" command. You can tell

9249

that _NOT_ has been turned on by looking for the character "!" at the

9250

beginning of the pattern line. When the "!" is present, it reverses the

9251

meaning of the match. That is, if the pattern matches then it is

9252

considered to NOT be a match, and if it does not match it is considered

9253

to be a match.

9254

9255

Don't make the mistake of putting the "!" in the data field for a

9256

pattern. For example, if you type the characters "!urgent" into the

9257

Subject pattern, the pattern will look like:

9258

9259

Subject pattern = !urgent

9260

9261

This means you want to match the 7 character sequence "!urgent". In

9262

order to match messages which do not have "urgent" in their Subject

9263

field, first type the characters "urgent" followed by carriage return

9264

for the value of the Subject pattern, then negate it by typing the "!"

9265

command. It should look like

9266

9267

! Subject pattern = urgent

9268

9269

The contents of each of these header patterns (or the AllText or

9270

BodyText patterns) may be a complete email address, part of an address,

9271

or a random set of characters to match against. It may also be a list

9272

of such patterns, which means you are looking for a match against the

9273

first pattern in the list _OR_ the second pattern _OR_ the third and so

9274

on. For example, a Subject pattern equal to

9275

9276

Subject pattern = urgent

9277

emergency

9278

alert

9279

9280

would match all messages with a subject which contained at least one of

9281

those words. It would also match subjects containing the words "alerts"

9282

or "Urgently".

9283

9284

The same example with "NOT" turned on would be

9285

9286

! Subject pattern = urgent

9287

emergency

9288

alert

9289

9290

which would match all messages with a subject which did NOT contain any

9291

of those words. You can use the "Add Value" command to add new words to

9292

the list, or you can enter them as a comma-separated list.

9293

9294

(It is not possible to specify two patterns which must _BOTH_ be

9295

present for a match. It is only possible to specify that _EITHER_

9296

pattern1 _OR_ pattern2 must be present, and that is exactly what using

9297

a list does.)

9298

9299

The "Current Folder Type" and the "Score Interval" are also part of the

9300

Pattern, although the "Score Interval" is not used when checking for

9301

matches for Scoring. There are five similar settings which relate to

9302

the status of the message. These settings rely on the message being New

9303

or not, Deleted or not, Answered or not, Important or not, and Recent

9304

or not. There are also some other miscellaneous settings. The first is

9305

the Age of the message in days. Another is the Size of the message in

9306

bytes. The third is a setting which detects whether or not the Subject

9307

of a message contains raw 8-bit characters (unencoded characters with

9308

the most significant bit set). There is a setting which detects whether

9309

or not this is the first time _Alpine_ has been run this month (doesn't

9310

depend on individual messages), and another which detects whether or

9311

not this is the first time _Alpine_ has been run this year. Other parts

9312

of the Pattern detect whether or not the From address of a message

9313

appears in your address book, whether or not certain keywords are set

9314

for a message, and whether or not certain character sets are used in a

9315

message.

9316

9317

Parts of a Pattern

9318

9319

Header patterns

9320

9321

A header pattern is simply text which is searched for in the

9322

corresponding header field. For example, if a Pattern has a From header

9323

pattern with the value "@company.com", then only messages which have a

9324

From header which contains the text "@company.com" will be possible

9325

matches. Matches don't have to be exact. For example, if the relevant

9326

field of a message contains the text "mailbox@domain" somewhere in it,

9327

then header patterns of "box", or "x@d", or "mailbox@domain" are all

9328

matches.

9329

9330

All parts of the Pattern must match so, for example, if a message

9331

matches a defined From pattern, it still must be checked against the

9332

other parts of the Pattern which have been defined. The To header

9333

pattern is a slightly special case. If the message being checked has a

9334

Resent-To header and the feature Use-Resent-To-in-Rules is turned on,

9335

the addresses there are used in place of the addresses in the To

9336

header. This is only true for the To header. Resent-cc and Resent-From

9337

headers are never used unless you add them with the eXtraHdrs command.

9338

9339

The meaning of a header pattern may be negated with the "!" "toggle

9340

NOT" command. You can tell that _NOT_ has been turned on by looking for

9341

the character "!" at the beginning of the pattern line. It would look

9342

something like

9343

9344

! From pattern = susan@example.com

9345

9346

When the "!" is present, it reverses the meaning of the match.

9347

9348

If you want to check for the presence of a header field but don't care

9349

about its value, then the empty pattern which you get by entering a

9350

pair of double quotes ("") should match any message which has the

9351

corresponding header field.

9352

9353

AllText patterns

9354

9355

AllText patterns are just like header patterns except that the text is

9356

searched for anywhere in the message's headers or body, not just in the

9357

contents of a particular header field.

9358

9359

BodyText patterns

9360

9361

BodyText patterns are just like header patterns except that the text is

9362

searched for anywhere in the message's body, not just in the contents

9363

of a particular header field.

9364

9365

If there is more than one header pattern or AllText pattern or BodyText

9366

pattern for which you want to take the same action there is a shorthand

9367

notation which may be used. Any of these patterns may be a list of

9368

patterns instead of just a single pattern. If any one of the patterns

9369

in the list matches the message then it is considered a match. For

9370

example, if "company1" and "company2" both required you to use the same

9371

role when replying to messages, you might have a To pattern which looks

9372

like

9373

9374

To pattern = company1.com

9375

company2.com

9376

9377

This means that if the mail you are replying to was addressed to either

9378

"anything@company1.com" or "anything@company2.com", then this Pattern

9379

is a match and the same actions will be taken.

9380

9381

The meaning of an AllText or BodyText pattern may be negated with the

9382

"!" "toggle NOT" command. You can tell that _NOT_ has been turned on by

9383

looking for the character "!" at the beginning of the pattern line.

9384

When the "!" is present, it reverses the meaning of the match.

9385

9386

A technicality: Since comma is the character used to separate multiple

9387

values in any of the fields which may have multiple values (such as

9388

header patterns, AllText patterns, BodyText patterns, keywords, folder

9389

lists, and so on), you must escape comma with a backslash (\) if you

9390

want to include a literal comma in one of those fields. In other words,

9391

if you type a backslash followed by a comma it will be interpreted as a

9392

comma by _Alpine_, instead of as a separator between pattern values.

9393

All other backslashes (those not followed by a comma) are literal

9394

backslashes and should not be escaped. It's unlikely you'll ever need

9395

to enter a literal comma or backslash in any of the patterns.

9396

9397

Current Folder Type

9398

9399

The "Current Folder Type" may be set to one of four different values:

9400

"Any", "News", "Email", or "Specific". If the value is set to "News",

9401

then the Pattern will only match if the currently open folder is a

9402

newsgroup. The value "Email" only matches if the current folder is not

9403

news and the value "Any" causes any folder to match. If the value of

9404

"Current Folder Type" is set to "Specific", then you must fill in a

9405

value for "Folder", which is on the line below the "Specific" line. In

9406

this case you will only get a match if the currently open folder is the

9407

specific folder you list. You may give a list of folders instead of

9408

just a single folder name, in which case the Pattern will match if the

9409

open folder is any one of the folders in the list. The name of each

9410

folder in the list may be either "INBOX", the technical specification

9411

of the folder (like what appears in your configuration file) or, if the

9412

folder is one of your incoming folders, it may be the nickname you've

9413

given the folder. Here are some samples of specific folder names:

9414

9415

{monet.art.example.com}mail/art-class

9416

9417

{news.example.com/nntp}#news.comp.mail.pine

9418

9419

mail/local-folder

9420

9421

The easiest way to fill in the "Folder" field is to use the "T" command

9422

which is available when the "Folder" line is hilighted, or to use the

9423

"Take" command with the configuration feature "enable-rules-under-take"

9424

turned on.

9425

9426

When reading a newsgroup, there may be a performance penalty incurred

9427

when collecting the information necessary to check whether or not a

9428

Pattern matches a message. For this reason, the default Current Folder

9429

Type is set to "Email". If you have Patterns with a Current Folder Type

9430

of either "Any" or "News" and those Patterns are used for Index Line

9431

Coloring or Scoring, you may experience slower screen redrawing in the

9432

MESSAGE INDEX screen when in a newsgroup.

9433

9434

Age Interval

9435

9436

The "Age Interval" may be set to an interval of message ages which

9437

should be considered a match. Like the other parts of the Pattern, if

9438

it is unset it will be ignored. The Age Interval looks like

9439

9440

(min_age,max_age)

9441

9442

where "min_age" and "max_age" are integers greater than or equal to

9443

zero. The special value "INF" may be used for the max value. It

9444

represents infinity.

9445

9446

Actually, this option may be defined as a list of intervals instead of

9447

just a single interval. The list is separated by commas. It can look

9448

like

9449

9450

(min_age1,max_age1),(min_age2,max_age2),...

9451

9452

When there is an Age Interval defined, it is a match if the age, in

9453

days, of the message is contained in any of the intervals. The

9454

intervals include both endpoints.

9455

9456

Even though this option is called Age, it isn't actually the _age_ of

9457

the message. Instead, it is how many days ago the message arrived in

9458

one of your folders. If the current time is a little past midnight,

9459

then a message that arrived just before midnight arrived yesterday,

9460

even though the message is only a few minutes old. By default, the date

9461

being used is not the date in the Date header of the message. It is the

9462

date that the message arrived in one of your folders. When you Save a

9463

message from one folder to another that arrival date is preserved. If

9464

you would like to use the date in the Date header that is possible.

9465

Turn on the option _use-date-header-for-age_ near the bottom of the

9466

rule definition.

9467

9468

A value of 0 is today, 1 is yesterday, 2 is the day before yesterday,

9469

and so on.

9470

9471

Size Interval

9472

9473

The "Size Interval" may be set to an interval of message sizes which

9474

should be considered a match. Like the other parts of the Pattern, if

9475

it is unset it will be ignored. The Size Interval looks like

9476

9477

(min_size,max_size)

9478

9479

where "min_size" and "max_size" are integers greater than or equal to

9480

zero. The special value "INF" may be used for the max value. It

9481

represents infinity.

9482

9483

Actually, this option may be defined as a list of intervals instead of

9484

just a single interval. The list is separated by commas. It can look

9485

like

9486

9487

(min_size1,max_size1),(min_size2,max_size2),...

9488

9489

When there is a Size Interval defined, it is a match if the size, in

9490

bytes, of the message is contained in any of the intervals. The

9491

intervals include both endpoints.

9492

9493

Score Interval

9494

9495

The "Score Interval" may be set to an interval of message scores which

9496

should be considered a match. Like the other parts of the Pattern, if

9497

it is unset it will be ignored. The Score Interval looks like

9498

9499

(min_score,max_score)

9500

9501

where "min_score" and "max_score" are integers between -32000 and

9502

32000. The special values "-INF" and "INF" may be used for the min and

9503

max values to represent negative and positive infinity.

9504

9505

Actually, a list of intervals may be used if you wish. A list would

9506

look like

9507

9508

(min_score1,max_score1),(min_score2,max_score2),...

9509

9510

When there is a Score Interval defined, it is a match if the score for

9511

the message is contained in any of the intervals in the list. The

9512

intervals include the endpoints. The score for a message is calculated

9513

by looking at every Score rule defined and adding up the Score Values

9514

for the ones which match the message. When deciding whether or not a

9515

Pattern matches a message for purposes of calculating the score, the

9516

Score Interval is ignored.

9517

9518

Message Status

9519

9520

There are five separate message status settings. By default, all five

9521

are set to the value "Don't care", which will match any message. The

9522

value "Yes" means that the particular status must be true for a match,

9523

and the value "No" means that the particular status must not be true

9524

for a match. For example, one of the five Message Status settings is

9525

whether a message is marked Important or not. A "Yes" means that the

9526

message must be Important to be considered a match and "No" means that

9527

the message must not be Important to be considered a match. The same is

9528

true of the other four message status settings which depend on whether

9529

or not the message is New; whether the message has been Answered or

9530

not; whether the message has been Deleted or not, and whether the

9531

message is Recent or not.

9532

9533

The nomenclature for New and Recent is a bit confusing:

9534

9535

New means that the message is Unseen. It could have been in your

9536

mailbox for a long time but if you haven't looked at it, it is still

9537

considered New. That matches the default _Alpine_ index display that

9538

shows an N for such a message.

9539

9540

Recent means that the message was added to this folder since the last

9541

time you opened the folder. _Alpine_ also shows an N by default for

9542

these types of messages. If you were to run two copies of _Alpine_ that

9543

opened a folder one right after the other, a message would only show up

9544

as Recent in (at most) the first _Alpine_ session.

9545

9546

Message Keywords

9547

9548

Keywords are similar to Message Status, but they are chosen by the

9549

user. Provided the mail server allows for it, you may add a set of

9550

possible keywords to a folder and then you may set those keywords or

9551

not for each message in the folder. The syntax of this part of the

9552

Pattern is similar to the header patterns. It is a list of keywords.

9553

The Keyword part of the Pattern is a match if the message has any of

9554

the keywords in the list set. Like other parts of the Pattern, if this

9555

is unset it will be ignored.

9556

9557

Message Character Set

9558

9559

A message may use one or more character sets. This part of the Pattern

9560

matches messages which make use of one or more of the character sets

9561

specified in the pattern. It will be considered a match if a message

9562

uses any of the character sets in the list you give here. The syntax of

9563

this part of the Pattern is similar to the header patterns and the

9564

Message Keywords pattern. It is a list of character sets.

9565

9566

Besides actual character set names (for example, ISO-8859-7, KOI8-R, or

9567

GB2312) you may also use some shorthand names that _Alpine_ provides.

9568

These names are more understandable shorthand names for sets of

9569

character set names. Two examples are "Cyrillic" and "Greek". Selecting

9570

one of these shorthand names is equivalent to selecting all of the

9571

character sets that make up the set. You can see all of these shorthand

9572

names and the lists of character sets they stand for by typing the "T"

9573

command with the Character Set pattern highlighted. The Character Set

9574

part of the Pattern is a match if the message uses any of the character

9575

sets in the list. Like other parts of the Pattern, if this is unset it

9576

will be ignored.

9577

9578

Raw 8-bit in Subject

9579

9580

It seems that lots of unwanted email contains unencoded 8-bit

9581

characters in the Subject. Normally, characters with the 8th bit set

9582

are not allowed in the Subject header unless they are MIME-encoded.

9583

This option gives you a way to match messages which have Subjects which

9584

contain unencoded 8-bit characters. Setting this option will affect

9585

performance in large folders because the subject of each message in the

9586

folder has to be checked.

9587

9588

Beginning of Month

9589

9590

This option gives you a way to take some action once per month. The

9591

value "Yes" means that this must be the first time _Alpine_ has been

9592

run this month in order to count as a match,

9593

9594

Beginning of Year

9595

9596

This option gives you a way to take some action once per year. The

9597

value "Yes" means that this must be the first time _Alpine_ has been

9598

run this year in order to count as a match,

9599

9600

From or Reply-To address in Address Books

9601

9602

This option gives you a way to match messages which have a From or a

9603

Reply-To address which is in one of your address books. Only the simple

9604

entries in your address books are searched. Address book distribution

9605

lists are ignored! Setting this option will affect performance in large

9606

folders because the From and Reply-To of each message in the folder

9607

have to be checked.

9608

9609

Categorizer Command

9610

9611

This is a command that is run with its standard input set to the

9612

message being checked and its standard output discarded. The full

9613

directory path should be specified. The command will be run and then

9614

its exit status will be checked against the Exit Status Interval, which

9615

defaults to just the value zero. If the exit status of the command

9616

falls in the interval, it is considered a match, otherwise it is not a

9617

match.

9618

9619

This option may actually be a list of commands. The first one that

9620

exists and is executable is used. That makes it possible to use the

9621

same configuration with Unix _Alpine_ and _PC-Alpine_.

9622

9623

If none of the commands in the list exists and is executable then the

9624

rule is _not_ a match. If it is possible that the command may not

9625

exist, you should be careful to structure your rules so that nothing

9626

destructive happens when the command does not exist. For example, you

9627

might have a filter that filters away spam when there is a match but

9628

does nothing when there is not a match. That would continue to work

9629

correctly if the command didn't exist. However, if you have a filter

9630

which filters away spam when there is not a match and keeps it when

9631

there is a match, that would filter everything if the categorizer

9632

command didn't exist.

9633

9634

Help Configuring Pattern Fields

9635

9636

_Nickname_

9637

This is a nickname to help you. You should have a different

9638

nickname for each role you define. The nickname will be used in

9639

the SETUP ROLE RULES screen to allow you to pick a role to edit.

9640

It will also be used when you send a message to let you know you

9641

are sending with a different role than you use by default, and

9642

it will be useful for choosing a role when composing with the

9643

Role command or when composing with one of the Role Uses set to

9644

With Confirmation. This field is not used in the outgoing

9645

message.

9646

_Comment_

9647

This is a comment to help you. This comment does not play any

9648

functional role, it is simply an optional comment to help you

9649

remember what the rule is for.

9650

_To pattern_

9651

If this pattern is non-blank, then for this role to be

9652

considered a match, at least one of the recipients from the To

9653

line of the message being replied to or forwarded must match

9654

this pattern. In the case of the Compose command, this pattern

9655

and the other header patterns are ignored. If this pattern is a

9656

list of patterns, then at least one of the recipients must match

9657

at least one of the patterns. (Any other non-blank parts of the

9658

Pattern must match, too.) If the message being replied to or

9659

forwarded has a Resent-To header line, then that is used in

9660

place of the To line. (Note that this special Resent rule only

9661

applies to the To header. The Resent-From, Resent-Subject, and

9662

so on are not consulted.)

9663

It is possible to add a _NOT_ to the To Pattern meaning with the

9664

"!" "toggle NOT" command. This changes the meaning of the To

9665

pattern so that it has the opposite meaning. It will be

9666

considered a match if there are no matches between the addresses

9667

in the To: line and the list of To patterns.

9668

Don't make the mistake of putting the "!" in the data field for

9669

the pattern. For example, if you type the characters "!frizzle"

9670

into the To pattern, the pattern will look like:

9671

To pattern = !frizzle

9672

9673

This means you want to match the 8 character sequence

9674

"!frizzle". In order to match messages which do not have

9675

"frizzle" in their To field, first type the characters "frizzle"

9676

followed by carriage return for the value of the To pattern,

9677

then negate it by typing the "!" command. It should end up

9678

looking like

9679

! To pattern = frizzle

9680

9681

_From pattern_

9682

This is just like the To pattern except that it is compared with

9683

the address from the From header of the message being replied to

9684

or forwarded instead of the addresses from the To header.

9685

_Sender pattern_

9686

This is just like the To pattern except that it is compared with

9687

the address from the Sender header of the message being replied

9688

to or forwarded instead of the addresses from the To header. If

9689

there is no Sender header, then the From header is used instead.

9690

_Cc pattern_

9691

This is just like the To pattern except that it is compared with

9692

the address from the CC header of the message being replied to

9693

or forwarded instead of the addresses from the To header.

9694

_News pattern_

9695

If this pattern is non-blank, then for this role to be

9696

considered a match, at least one of the newsgroups from the

9697

Newsgroups line of the message must match this pattern. If this

9698

pattern is a list of patterns, then at least one of the

9699

newsgroups must match at least one of the patterns. (Any other

9700

non-blank parts of the Pattern must match, too.)

9701

_Subject pattern_

9702

This is similar to the other header patterns. It is compared

9703

with the contents from the Subject of the message being replied

9704

to or forwarded.

9705

If you enter non-ascii characters in this field then the search

9706

will be done using the character set you have defined with the

9707

Character-Set configuration variable. (The truly sophisticated

9708

may use an alternate character set for a search by entering the

9709

MIME encoding of the header string here.)

9710

_Extra header patterns_

9711

There isn't actually a field called Extra header patterns, but

9712

you may add extra header patterns by moving the cursor to one of

9713

the header patterns and using the "eXtraHdr" command to add a

9714

new header pattern. You would do this if the six predefined

9715

header patterns don't cover the header you want to use for

9716

pattern matching. Once you've added an extra header pattern, you

9717

use it just like the Subject pattern. Of course, it is compared

9718

with the contents from the particular header field of the

9719

message being replied to or forwarded rather than the contents

9720

from the subject field. To remove an extra header pattern from a

9721

role, use the &quotRemoveHdr" command on the highlighted extra

9722

header.

9723

If you enter non-ascii characters in this field then the search

9724

will be done using the character set you have defined with the

9725

Character-Set configuration variable. (The truly sophisticated

9726

may use an alternate character set for a search by entering the

9727

MIME encoding of the header string here.)

9728

_Recipient pattern_

9729

This is just like the To pattern except that it is compared with

9730

the addresses from both the To header and the Cc header instead

9731

of just the addresses from the To header. It's equivalent to

9732

having two different rules; one with a To pattern and the other

9733

with the same Cc pattern.

9734

_Participant pattern_

9735

This is just like the To pattern except that it is compared with

9736

the addresses from the To header, the Cc header, and the From

9737

header instead of just the addresses from the To header. It's

9738

equivalent to having three different rules; one with a To

9739

pattern, another with the same Cc pattern, and another with the

9740

same From pattern.

9741

_AllText pattern_

9742

This is similar to the header patterns. Instead of comparing

9743

with text in a particular header field it is compared with all

9744

of the text in the message header and body.

9745

If you enter non-ascii characters in this field then the search

9746

will be done using the character set you have defined with the

9747

Character-Set configuration variable. (The truly sophisticated

9748

may use an alternate character set for a search by entering the

9749

MIME encoding of the header string here.)

9750

_BodyText pattern_

9751

Just like AllText, except it is compared only with the body of

9752

the message, not the body and header.

9753

If you enter non-ascii characters in this field then the search

9754

will be done using the character set you have defined with the

9755

Character-Set configuration variable. (The truly sophisticated

9756

may use an alternate character set for a search by entering the

9757

MIME encoding of the header string here.)

9758

_Age Interval_

9759

The Age Interval, if defined, is part of the Pattern. If you use

9760

this, it should be set to something like:

9761

9762

(min_age,max_age)

9763

where "min_age" and "max_age" are non-negative integers. The

9764

special value "INF" may be used for the max value. It represents

9765

infinity.

9766

In rare cases it may be useful to use the more general form of

9767

the value, which is a comma-separated list of intervals. It

9768

would look something like:

9769

9770

(min_age1,max_age1),(min_age2,max_age2),...

9771

When there is an Age Interval defined, it is a match if the age,

9772

in days, of the message is contained in the interval. The

9773

interval includes both endpoints. If the option is set to a list

9774

of intervals then it is a match if the age of the message is

9775

contained in any of the intervals.

9776

Even though this option is called Age, it isn't actually the

9777

_age_ of the message. Instead, it is how many days ago the

9778

message arrived in one of your folders. If the current time is a

9779

little past midnight, then a message that arrived just before

9780

midnight arrived yesterday, even though the message is only a

9781

few minutes old. By default, the date being used is not the date

9782

in the Date header of the message. It is the date that the

9783

message arrived in one of your folders. When you Save a message

9784

from one folder to another that arrival date is preserved. If

9785

you would like to use the date in the Date header that is

9786

possible. Turn on the option _use-date-header-for-age_ near the

9787

bottom of the rule definition.

9788

A value of 0 is today, 1 is yesterday, 2 is the day before

9789

yesterday, and so on. The age interval

9790

9791

(2,2)

9792

matches all messages that arrived on the day before yesterday.

9793

The interval

9794

9795

(180,INF)

9796

matches all messages that arrived at least 180 days before

9797

today. The interval

9798

9799

(0,1)

9800

matches all messages that arrived today or yesterday.

9801

_Score Interval_

9802

The Score Interval, if defined, is part of the Pattern. If you

9803

use this, it should be set to something like:

9804

9805

(min_score,max_score)

9806

where "min_score" and "max_score" are integers between -32000

9807

and 32000. The special values "-INF" and "INF" can be used for

9808

the min and max values. These represent negative and positive

9809

infinity.

9810

Actually, the value may be a list of intervals rather than just

9811

a single interval if that is useful. The elements of the list

9812

are separated by commas like:

9813

9814

(min_score1,max_score1),(min_score2,max_score2),...

9815

When there is a Score Interval defined, it is a match if the

9816

score for the message is contained in any of the intervals. The

9817

intervals include both endpoints. The score for a message is

9818

calculated by looking at every scoring rule defined and adding

9819

up the Score Values for the rules which match the message.

9820

_Keyword pattern_

9821

A folder may have user-defined keywords. These are similar to

9822

the Important flag which the user may set using the Flag

9823

command. The difference is that the Important flag is always

9824

present for each folder. User-defined keywords are picked by the

9825

user. You may add new keywords by defining them in the Keywords

9826

option in the Setup/Config screen. After you have added a

9827

potential keyword with the Keywords option, the Flag command may

9828

be used to set or clear the keyword on individual messages. If

9829

you have given a keyword a nickname when configuring it, that

9830

nickname may be used instead of the actual keyword.

9831

When filling in a value for this field, it may be easiest to use

9832

the "T" command, which presents you with a list of the keywords

9833

you have defined to choose from.

9834

This part of the Pattern matches messages with certain keywords

9835

set. It will be considered a match if a message has any of the

9836

keywords in the list set.

9837

It is possible to add a _NOT_ to the Keyword Pattern meaning

9838

with the "!" "toggle NOT" command. This changes the meaning of

9839

the Keyword pattern so that it has the opposite meaning. It will

9840

be considered a match if none of the keywords in the list are

9841

set for a message.

9842

Don't make the mistake of putting the "!" in the data field for

9843

the pattern. For example, if you type the characters "!frizzle"

9844

into the Keyword pattern, the pattern will look like:

9845

Keyword pattern = !frizzle

9846

9847

This means you want to match the 8 character sequence

9848

"!frizzle". In order to match messages which do not have the

9849

keyword "frizzle" set, first type the characters "frizzle"

9850

followed by carriage return for the value of the Keyword

9851

pattern, then negate it by typing the "!" command. It should end

9852

up looking like

9853

! Keyword pattern = frizzle

9854

9855

_Character Set pattern_

9856

A message may use one or more character sets. This part of the

9857

Pattern matches messages which make use of certain specified

9858

character sets. It will be considered a match if a message uses

9859

any of the character sets in the list you give here.

9860

When filling in a value for this field, you may use the "T"

9861

command, which presents you with a large list of possible

9862

character sets to choose from. You may also just type in the

9863

name of a character set, and it need not be one that Alpine

9864

knows about.

9865

Besides actual character set names (for example, ISO-8859-7,

9866

KOI8-R, or GB2312) you may also use some shorthand names that

9867

Alpine provides. These names are more understandable shorthand

9868

names for sets of character set names. Two examples are

9869

"Cyrillic" and "Greek". Selecting one of these shorthand names

9870

is equivalent to selecting all of the character sets that make

9871

up the set. You can see all of these shorthand names and the

9872

lists of character sets they stand for by typing the "T"

9873

command.

9874

For the purposes of this Pattern, _Alpine_ will search through a

9875

message for all of the text parts and collect the character sets

9876

declared for each part. It will also look in the Subject line

9877

for a character set used there. _Alpine_ does not actually look

9878

at the text of the message or the text of the Subject to

9879

determine if a declared character set is actually used, it looks

9880

only at the declarations themselves in the MIME part headers and

9881

in the Subject.

9882

It is possible to add a _NOT_ to the Character Set Pattern

9883

meaning with the "!" "toggle NOT" command. This changes the

9884

meaning of the Character Set pattern so that it has the opposite

9885

meaning. It will be considered a match if none of the character

9886

sets in the list are used in a message.

9887

Don't make the mistake of putting the "!" in the data field for

9888

the pattern. For example, if you type the characters "!GB2312"

9889

into the Character Set pattern, the pattern will look like:

9890

Charset pattern = !GB2312

9891

9892

This means you want to match the 7 character sequence "!GB2312".

9893

In order to match messages which do not have the character set

9894

"GB2312" set, first type the characters "GB2312" followed by

9895

carriage return for the value of the Character Set pattern, then

9896

negate it by typing the "!" command. It should end up looking

9897

like

9898

! Charset pattern = GB2312

9899

9900

A technicality: Since comma is the character used to separate

9901

multiple values in a pattern field, you have to escape comma

9902

with a backslash (\) if you want to include a literal comma in

9903

the field. In other words, if you type a backslash followed by a

9904

comma it will be interpreted as a comma by _Alpine_, instead of

9905

as a separator between pattern values. All other backslashes are

9906

literal backslashes and should not be escaped.

9907

_Current Folder Type_

9908

The Current Folder Type is part of the Pattern. It refers to the

9909

type of the currently open folder, which is the folder you were

9910

last looking at from the MESSAGE INDEX or MESSAGE TEXT screen.

9911

In order for a pattern to be considered a match, the current

9912

folder must be of the type you set here. The three types "Any",

9913

"News", and "Email" are all what you might think.

9914

If the Current Folder Type for a Pattern is set to "News", for

9915

example, then that will only be a match if the current folder is

9916

a newsgroup and the rest of the Pattern matches. The value

9917

"Specific" may be used when you want to limit the match to a

9918

specific folder (not just a specific type of folder), or to a

9919

list of specific folders. In order to match a specific folder

9920

you must Select the "Specific" button _AND_ you must fill in the

9921

name (or list of names) of the folder in the "Folder" field. If

9922

the current folder is any of the folders in the list, that is

9923

considered a match. The name of each folder in the list may be

9924

either "INBOX", the technical specification of the folder (like

9925

what appears in your configuration file) or, if the folder is

9926

one of your incoming folders, it may be the nickname you've

9927

given the folder. Here are a couple samples of specific folder

9928

names:

9929

9930

{monet.art.example.com}mail/art-class

9931

9932

{news.example.com/nntp}#news.comp.mail.pine

9933

The easiest way to fill in the "Folder" field is to use the T

9934

command which is available when the "Folder" line is hilighted.

9935

Note that you won't be able to edit the "Folder" line unless the

9936

Current Folder Type is set to "Specific", and any value that

9937

"Folder" has is ignored unless the type is set to "Specific".

9938

When reading a newsgroup, there may be a performance penalty

9939

incurred when collecting the information necessary to check a

9940

Pattern. For this reason, the default Current Folder Type is set

9941

to "Email". For example, a role with a non-Normal Index Line

9942

Color and a Current Folder Type of "Any" or "News" may cause the

9943

MESSAGE INDEX screen to draw more slowly when in a newsgroup.

9944

_Message Status Important_

9945

This part of the Pattern may have one of three possible values.

9946

The default value is "Don't care", which matches any message.

9947

The other two values are "Yes", which means the message must be

9948

flagged "Important" in order to be a match; or "No", which means

9949

the message must _not_ be flagged "Important" in order to be

9950

considered a match.

9951

_Message Status New_

9952

This part of the Pattern may have one of three possible values.

9953

The default value is "Don't care", which matches any message.

9954

The other two values are "Yes", which means the message must be

9955

"New" in order to be a match; or "No", which means the message

9956

must _not_ be "New" in order to be a match. "New" is the same as

9957

_Unseen_ and not "New" is the same as _Seen_.

9958

The nomenclature for New and Recent is a bit confusing:

9959

New means that the message is Unseen. It could have been in your

9960

mailbox for a long time but if you haven't looked at it, it is

9961

still considered New. That matches the default _Alpine_ index

9962

display that shows an N for such a message.

9963

Recent means that the message was added to this folder since the

9964

last time you opened the folder. _Alpine_ also shows an N by

9965

default for these types of messages. If you were to run two

9966

copies of _Alpine_ that opened a folder one right after the

9967

other, a message would only show up as Recent in (at most) the

9968

first _Alpine_ session.

9969

_Message Status Recent_

9970

This part of the Pattern may have one of three possible values.

9971

The default value is "Don't care", which matches any message.

9972

The other two values are "Yes", which means the message must be

9973

"Recent" in order to be a match; or "No", which means the

9974

message must _not_ be "Recent" in order to be a match. "Recent"

9975

means that the message was added to the folder since the last

9976

time the folder was opened. If more than one mail client has the

9977

folder opened, the message will appear to be "Recent" to only

9978

one of the clients.

9979

The nomenclature for New and Recent is a bit confusing:

9980

New means that the message is Unseen. It could have been in your

9981

mailbox for a long time but if you haven't looked at it, it is

9982

still considered New. That matches the default _Alpine_ index

9983

display that shows an N for such a message.

9984

Recent means that the message was added to this folder since the

9985

last time you opened the folder. _Alpine_ also shows an N by

9986

default for these types of messages. If you were to run two

9987

copies of _Alpine_ that opened a folder one right after the

9988

other, a message would only show up as Recent in (at most) the

9989

first _Alpine_ session.

9990

_Message Status Deleted_

9991

This part of the Pattern may have one of three possible values.

9992

The default value is "Don't care", which matches any message.

9993

The other two values are "Yes", which means the message must be

9994

marked "Deleted" in order to be a match; or "No", which means

9995

the message must _not_ be marked "Deleted" in order to be a

9996

match.

9997

If you are thinking of using this part of the Pattern as a way

9998

to prevent messages from being filtered more than once in a

9999

Filter Pattern, take a look at the Filter Option

10000

"move-only-if-not-deleted" instead. It should work better than

10001

using this field since it will hide the filtered messages even

10002

if they are already Deleted.

10003

_Message Status Answered_

10004

This part of the Pattern may have one of three possible values.

10005

The default value is "Don't care", which matches any message.

10006

The other two values are "Yes", which means the message must be

10007

marked "Answered" in order to be a match; or "No", which means

10008

the message must _not_ be marked "Answered" in order to be a

10009

match.

10010

_Subject Contains Raw 8-bit_

10011

This part of the Pattern may have one of three possible values.

10012

The default value is "Don't care", which matches any message.

10013

The other two values are "Yes", which means the Subject of the

10014

message must contain unencoded 8-bit characters (characters with

10015

the most significant bit set) in order to be a match; or "No",

10016

which means the Subject must _not_ contain unencoded 8-bit

10017

characters in order to be a match.

10018

_Beginning of Month_

10019

This part of the Pattern may have one of three possible values.

10020

The default value is "Don't care", which matches any message.

10021

The other two values are "Yes", which means this is the first

10022

time _Alpine_ has been run this month; or "No", which means this

10023

is _not_ the first time _Alpine_ has been run this month. The

10024

way that _Alpine_ decides if it is the beginning of the month or

10025

not is to compare today's date with the date stored in the

10026

Last-Time-Prune-Questioned variable in the config file. If the

10027

month of today's date is later than the month stored in the

10028

variable, then this is considered to be the first time you have

10029

run Alpine this month, and that turns the Beginning of the Month

10030

option on.

10031

_Beginning of Year_

10032

This part of the Pattern may have one of three possible values.

10033

The default value is "Don't care", which matches any message.

10034

The other two values are "Yes", which means this is the first

10035

time _Alpine_ has been run this year; or "No", which means this

10036

is _not_ the first time _Alpine_ has been run this year. The way

10037

that _Alpine_ decides if it is the beginning of the year or not

10038

is to compare today's date with the date stored in the

10039

Last-Time-Prune-Questioned variable in the config file. If the

10040

year of today's date is later than the year stored in the

10041

variable, then this is considered to be the first time you have

10042

run Alpine this year, and that turns the Beginning of the Year

10043

option on.

10044

_From or Reply-To in Address Book_

10045

This part of the Pattern may have one of five possible values.

10046

The default value is "Don't care", which matches any message.

10047

The value "Yes, in any address book" means either the From

10048

address or the Reply-To address of the message must be in at

10049

least one of your address books in order to be a match. The

10050

value "No, not in any address book" means neither the From nor

10051

the Reply-To addresses may be in any of your address books in

10052

order to be a match.

10053

The values "Yes, in specific address books" and "No, not in any

10054

of specific address books" are similar but instead of depending

10055

on all address books you are allowed to give a list of address

10056

books to look in. Usually this would be a single address book

10057

but it may be a list of address books as well. For each of these

10058

"specific" address book options you Select which of the Specific

10059

options you want (Yes or No) _AND_ fill in the name (or list of

10060

names) of the address book in the "Abook List" field. The names

10061

to be used are those that appear in the ADDRESS BOOK LIST

10062

screen. The easiest way to fill in the Abook List field it to

10063

use the "T" command which is available when the "Abook List"

10064

line is highlighted. Note that you won't be able to edit the

10065

"Abook List" line unless the option is set to one of the two

10066

"Specific", values.

10067

_Categorizer Command_

10068

This is a command that is run with its standard input set to the

10069

message being checked and its standard output discarded. The

10070

full directory path should be specified. The command will be run

10071

and then its exit status will be checked against the _Exit

10072

Status Interval_, which defaults to just the value zero. If the

10073

exit status of the command falls in the interval, it is

10074

considered a match, otherwise it is not a match.

10075

This option may actually be a list of commands. The first one

10076

that exists and is executable is used. That makes it possible to

10077

use the same configuration with Unix _Alpine_ and _PC-Alpine_.

10078

If none of the commands in the list exists and is executable

10079

then the rule is _not_ a match. If it is possible that the

10080

command may not exist, you should be careful to structure your

10081

rules so that nothing destructive happens when the command does

10082

not exist. For example, you might have a filter that filters

10083

away spam when there is a match but does nothing when there is

10084

not a match. That would continue to work correctly if the

10085

command didn't exist. However, if you have a filter which

10086

filters away spam when there is not a match and keeps it when

10087

there is a match, that would filter everything if the

10088

categorizer command didn't exist.

10089

The categorizer command is run and the result is the exit status

10090

of that command. If that exit status falls in the _Exit Status

10091

Interval_ then it is considered a match, otherwise it is not a

10092

match. Of course for the entire rule to match, it must also be

10093

checked against the other defined parts of the Pattern.

10094

The _Exit Status Interval_ defaults to the single value 0

10095

(zero). If you define it, it should be set to something like:

10096

10097

(min_exit_value,max_exit_value)

10098

where "min_exit_value" and "max_exit_value" are integers. The

10099

special values "INF" and "-INF" may be used for large positive

10100

and negative integers.

10101

Actually, a list of intervals may be used if you wish. A list

10102

would look like

10103

10104

(min_exit_value1,max_exit_value1),(min_exit_value2,max_exit_value2),...

10105

When there is an _Exit Status Interval_ defined, it is a match

10106

if the exit status of the categorizer command is contained in

10107

any of the intervals. The intervals include both endpoints.

10108

The default interval is

10109

10110

(0,0)

10111

and it matches only if the command exits with exit status equal

10112

to zero.

10113

It is also possible to set a _Character Limit_ for the

10114

categorizer command. Setting this option makes it possible to

10115

limit how much of the message is made available to the

10116

categorizer command as input. The default value (-1) means that

10117

the entire message is fed to the command. A value of 0 (zero)

10118

means that only the headers of the message are made available. A

10119

positive integer means that the headers plus that many

10120

characters from the body of the message are passed to the

10121

categorizer.

10122

10123

Configuring News

10124

10125

_Alpine_ can access news folders in any one of three different ways:

10126

10127

REMOTE NNTP

10128

Using the Network News Transport Protocol (NNTP) to access news

10129

on a remote news server. In this case the newsrc file is stored

10130

on the machine where _Alpine_ is running.

10131

10132

To specify a remote news-collection accessed via NNTP use the

10133

SETUP/collectionList screen's "Add" command. Set the Server:

10134

value to the NNTP server's hostname appended with the

10135

communication method "/service=NNTP", and set the Path: value to

10136

the "#news." namespace (without the quotes).

10137

10138

Instead of specifying a news-collection, you may simply set the

10139

nntp-server option, which will cause _Alpine_ to create a

10140

default news-collection for you. Another NNTP option which may

10141

be of interest is nntp-range.

10142

10143

REMOTE IMAP

10144

Using the Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP) to access news

10145

on a remote news server. In this case, your newsrc file is

10146

stored on the news server, in your home directory, so you must

10147

have an account on the news server, but you would be running

10148

_Alpine_ on a different machine. The news server must be running

10149

an IMAPd server process.

10150

10151

To specify a remote news-collection accessed via IMAP use the

10152

SETUP/collectionList screen's "Add" command. Set the Server:

10153

value to the IMAP server's hostname, and set the Path: value to

10154

the "#news." namespace (without the quotes).

10155

10156

LOCAL

10157

Using local file access to the news database. In this case, your

10158

newsrc file is stored on the news server, in your home

10159

directory, so you must have an account on the news server, and

10160

you would be running _Alpine_ on the same machine.

10161

10162

To specify a local news-collection use the SETUP/collectionList

10163

screen's "Add" command. Leave the Server: value blank, and set

10164

the Path: value to the "#news." namespace (without the quotes).

10165

10166

NOTE: Should no news-collection be defined as above, _Alpine_ will

10167

automatically create one using the Setup/Config screen's "nntp-server"

10168

variable's value if defined. The collection will be created as a

10169

"Remote NNTP" as described above.

10170

10171

If you are a _PC-Alpine_ user, either option 1 (NNTP) or option 2

10172

(IMAP) is possible. If you don't have an account on the news server, or

10173

if the news server is not running an IMAP daemon, then you must use

10174

NNTP. (If you are not sure, ask your service provider, university, or

10175

company for help.) In this case, your Unix .newsrc file can be

10176

transferred to your PC. A good place to put it would be in the same

10177

directory as your PINERC file, under the name NEWSRC, but you can

10178

specify a different location.

10179

10180

Other configuration features related to news are

10181

Enable-8bit-Nntp-Posting. Compose-Sets-Newsgroup-Without-Confirm,

10182

News-Approximates-New-Status, News-Deletes-Across-Groups,

10183

News-Offers-Catchup-On-Close, News-Post-Without-Validation,

10184

News-Read-in-Newsrc-Order, and Quell-Extra-Post-Prompt.

10185

__________________________________________________________________

10186

10187

Notes on Configuration and Preferences

10188

10189

Alpine in Function Key Mode

10190

10191

The standard _Alpine_ uses alphabetic keys for most commands, and

10192

control keys in the composer. Despite possible appearances, the current

10193

bindings are the result of much discussion and thought. All the

10194

commands in the composer are single control characters. This keeps

10195

things very neat and simple for users. Two character commands in the

10196

composer are a possibility, but we're trying to avoid them because of

10197

the added complexity for the user.

10198

10199

_Alpine_ can also operate in a function-key mode. To go into this mode

10200

invoke _alpine -k_ or (on some UNIX systems) _alpinef._ On a UNIX

10201

system, you can link or copy the _Alpine_ executable to _alpinef_ to

10202

install _alpinef._ Alternatively, users and systems administrators can

10203

set the _use-function-keys_ feature in the personal or system-wide

10204

_Alpine_ configuration file. The command menus at the bottom of the

10205

screen will show _F1-F12 _instead of the alphabetic commands. In

10206

addition, the help screens will be written in terms of function keys

10207

and not alphabetic keys.

10208

10209

One of the results of using _Alpine_ in function-key mode is that users

10210

can only choose from twelve commands at any given time. In

10211

alphabetic-key mode, a user can press a key for a command (say, q to

10212

quit) and that command can be fulfilled. In function-key mode, the

10213

command must be visible on the bottom key-menu in order to be used.

10214

There are some screens where four screens of commands are operational;

10215

function-key users can get to all of them, just not all at once.

10216

__________________________________________________________________

10217

10218

Domain Settings

10219

10220

_Alpine_ uses the default domain for a few different tasks. First, it

10221

is tacked onto the user-id for outgoing email. Second, it is tacked

10222

onto all "local" (unqualified) addresses in the "To:" or "Cc:" fields

10223

of messages being composed (unless they are found in the address book

10224

or on an LDAP server). The domain name is also used to generate

10225

message-id lines for each outgoing message and to allow _Alpine_ to

10226

check if an address is that of the current _Alpine_ user.

10227

10228

_Alpine_ determines the domain name according to whichever of these it

10229

finds. The list here is in decreasing order of precedence.

10230

1. Value of the variable user-domain in the system fixed configuration

10231

file

10232

2. Value of the variable _user-domain_ in the personal configuration

10233

file

10234

3. Value of the variable _user-domain_ in the system-wide

10235

configuration file

10236

4. Value from an external database (DNS, /etc/hosts, NIS) as modified

10237

by a system fixed configuration file if use-only-domain-name set to

10238

_yes_

10239

5. Value from an external database (DNS, /etc/hosts, NIS) as modified

10240

by a personal configuration file if _use-only-domain-name_ set to

10241

_yes_

10242

6. Value from an external database (DNS, /etc/hosts, NIS) as modified

10243

by a system configuration file if _use-only-domain-name_ set to

10244

_yes_

10245

7. Unmodified value (host name) from an external database

10246

10247

The easiest way for this system to work is for _PC-Alpine_ users and

10248

UNIX _Alpine_ system administrators to set the _user-domain_ variable.

10249

The variable _use-only-domain-name_ is helpful if your site

10250

supports/requires hostless addressing, but for some reason you don't

10251

want to use the _user-domain_ variable.

10252

__________________________________________________________________

10253

10254

Syntax for Collections

10255

10256

In many environments, it is quite common to have collections of

10257

archived mail on various hosts around the network. Using the folder

10258

collections facility in _Alpine_, access to these archives is just as

10259

simple as access to folders on _Alpine_'s local disk.

10260

10261

"Collection" is the word we use in _Alpine_ to describe a set of

10262

folders. A collection corresponds loosely to a "directory" containing

10263

mail folders. Folders within a defined collection can be manipulated

10264

(opened, saved-to, etc) using just their simple name. Any number of

10265

folder collections can be defined, and _Alpine_ will adjust its menus

10266

and prompts to help navigate them.

10267

10268

The way collections are defined in _Alpine_ is with the

10269

folder-collections variable in the _Alpine_ configuration file.

10270

_Folder-collections_ takes a list of one or more collections, each

10271

(optionally) preceded by a user-defined logical name (label). Once

10272

collections are defined, _Alpine_ adjusts its menus and behavior to

10273

allow choosing files by their simple name within the collection.

10274

10275

Consider the following:

10276

folder-collections= Local-Mail C:\MAIL\[],

10277

Remote-Mail {imap.u.example.edu}mail/[]

10278

10279

The example shows two collections defined (a comma separated list;

10280

newlines in the list are OK if there's one or more spaces before the

10281

next entry), one local and one remote. Each collection is a

10282

space-delimited pair of elements-first an optional logical-name and

10283

second the collection specifier. The logical-name can have spaces if it

10284

has quotes around it (but keeping the logical name short and

10285

descriptive works best). _Alpine_ will use the logical-name (if

10286

provided) to reference all folders in the collection, so the user never

10287

has to see the ugliness of the collection specifier.

10288

10289

The collection specifier can be thought of as an extended IMAP format

10290

(see the Remote Folders section for a description of IMAP format

10291

names). Basically, a pair of square-brackets are placed in the fully

10292

qualified IMAP path where the simple folder name (the part without the

10293

host name and path) would appear. Like IMAP, the path can be either

10294

fully qualified (i.e., with a leading '/') or relative to your home

10295

directory.

10296

10297

An advanced feature of this notation is that a pattern within the

10298

square brackets allows the user to define a collection to be a subset

10299

of a directory. For example, a collection defined with the specifier:

10300

M-Mail C:MAIL/[m*]

10301

10302

10303

will provide a view in the folder lister of all folders in the PC's

10304

"C:MAIL" directory that start with the letter 'm' (case insensitive

10305

under DOS, of course). Further, the wildcard matching will honor

10306

characters trailing the '*' in the pattern.

10307

10308

From within _Alpine_, the "Folder List" display will be adjusted to

10309

allow browsing of the folders in any defined collection. Even more,

10310

you'll notice in the _Goto_ and _Save_ commands a pair of sub-commands

10311

to rotate through the list of logical collection names, so only a

10312

simple name need be input in order to operate on a folder in any

10313

collection.

10314

10315

The first collection specified in the _folder-collections_ has special

10316

significance. That folder is the "default collection for saves". By

10317

default, in cases where the user does not specify which collection

10318

should be used to _Save_ a message, the default collection for saves

10319

will be used. Also, if the default-fcc is a relative file name, then it

10320

is relative to the default collection for saves. (See also

10321

saved-msg-name-rule.

10322

10323

The notion of collections encompasses both email folders and news

10324

reading. The variable news-collections uses nearly the same format as

10325

_folder-collections_. Newsgroups can be defined for convenient access

10326

via either IMAP or NNTP. There are advantages and disadvantages to both

10327

access methods. In the IMAP case, your news environment state is

10328

maintained on the server and, thus, will be seen by any client. The

10329

downside is that, at the moment, you must have an account on the

10330

server. In the NNTP case, server access is mostly anonymous and no

10331

state/accounting need be maintained on it. The downside is that each

10332

client, for now, must individually maintain news environment state.

10333

10334

An example pinerc entry might be:

10335

news-collections= Remote-State {news.u.example.edu}#news.[],

10336

Local-State {news.u.example.edu/nntp}#news.[]

10337

10338

Only newsgroups to which you are subscribed are included in the

10339

collection.

10340

10341

The pattern matching facility can be applied so as to define a news

10342

collection which is a subset of all the newsgroups you subscribe to.

10343

For example, this could be a valid collection:

10344

Newsfeed-News {news.u.example.edu/nntp}#news.[clari.*]

10345

10346

Collection handling is a tough problem to solve in a general way, and

10347

the explanation of the syntax is a bit ugly. The upside is, hopefully,

10348

that for a little complexity in the _Alpine_ configuration file you get

10349

simple management of multiple folders in diverse locations.

10350

10351

Collection setup is handled by the _Setup/collectionList_ screen.

10352

__________________________________________________________________

10353

10354

Syntax for Folder Names

10355

10356

Remote folders are distinguished from local folders by a leading host

10357

name bracketed by '{' and '}'. The path and folder name immediately

10358

following the closing bracket, '}', is interpreted by the remote server

10359

and is in a form compatible with that server (i.e., path delimiters and

10360

naming syntax relative to that server).

10361

10362

The full syntax for a _Alpine_ folder name looks like

10363

10364

[{<remote-specification>}][#<namespace>]<namespace-specific-part>

10365

10366

The square brackets ([]) mean that the part is optional.

10367

10368

If there is no remote-specification, then the folder name is

10369

interpreted locally on the computer running _Alpine_. Local folder

10370

names depend on the operating system used by the computer running

10371

_Alpine_, as well as the configuration of that system. For example,

10372

"C:\ALPINE\FOLDERS\OCT-94" might exist on a PC, and

10373

"~/mail/september-1994" might be a reasonable folder name on a system

10374

running Unix.

10375

10376

_Alpine_ users have the option of using folders which are stored on

10377

some other computer. _Alpine_ accesses remote folders via IMAP (the

10378

Internet Message Access Protocol), or in the case of news, via NNTP

10379

(the Network News Transport Protocol). To be able to access remote

10380

folders in _Alpine_, the remote host must be running the appropriate

10381

server software (imapd or nntpd) and you must correctly specify the

10382

name of the folder to _Alpine_, including the domain name of the remote

10383

machine. For example,

10384

10385

{monet.art.example.com}INBOX

10386

10387

could be a remote folder specification, and so could

10388

10389

{unixhost.art.example.com}~/mail/september-1994

10390

10391

and

10392

10393

{winhost.art.example.com}\mymail\SEP-94

10394

10395

Note that in the case of remote folders, the directory/file path in the

10396

specification is determined by the operating system of the remote

10397

computer, _not_ by the operating system of the computer on which you

10398

are running _Alpine_.

10399

10400

As you can tell, the name of the computer is in {} brackets followed

10401

immediately by the name of the folder. (In each of these cases the

10402

optional namespace is missing.) If, as in these examples, there is no

10403

remote access protocol specified, then IMAP is assumed. Check Server

10404

Name Syntax for a more detailed look at what options can be placed

10405

between the brackets. If there are no brackets at all, then the folder

10406

name is interpreted locally on the computer on which you are running

10407

_Alpine_.

10408

10409

To the right of the brackets when a server name is present, or at the

10410

start of the foldername if no server is present, the sharp sign, "#",

10411

holds special meaning. It indicates a folder name outside the area

10412

reserved for your personal folders. In fact, it's used to indicate both

10413

the name of the folder, and a special phrase telling _Alpine_ how to

10414

interpret the name that follows.

10415

10416

So, for example, _Alpine_ can be used to access a newsgroup that might

10417

be available on your computer using:

10418

10419

#news.comp.mail.pine

10420

10421

The sharp sign indicates the folder name is outside your personal

10422

folder area. The "news." phrase after it tells _Alpine_ to interpret

10423

the remainder of the name as a newsgroup.

10424

10425

Similarly, to access a newsgroup on your IMAP server, you might use

10426

something like:

10427

10428

{wharhol.art.example.com}#news.comp.mail.misc

10429

10430

There are a number of such special phrases (or "namespaces") available.

10431

For a more detailed explanation read about Namespaces.

10432

10433

Note that "INBOX" has special meaning in both local and remote folder

10434

names. The name INBOX refers to your "principal incoming message

10435

folder" and will be mapped to the actual file name used for your INBOX

10436

on any given host. Therefore, a name like "{xxx.art.example.com}INBOX"

10437

refers to whatever file is used to store incoming mail for you on that

10438

particular host.

10439

__________________________________________________________________

10440

10441

Server Name Syntax

10442

10443

This section describes the syntax which may be used for server names

10444

which may be associated with remote folders or SMTP servers.

10445

10446

A server name is the hostname of the server. It's a good idea to use

10447

the host's fully-qualified network name.

10448

10449

foo.example.com

10450

10451

However, IP addresses are allowed if surrounded with square-brackets.

10452

10453

[127.0.0.1]

10454

10455

An optional network port number may be supplied by appending a colon

10456

(:) followed by the port number to the server name. By default, the

10457

IMAP port number, 143, is used.

10458

10459

foo.example.com:port

10460

10461

Besides server name and optional port number, various other optional

10462

parameters may be supplied that alter _Alpine_'s interaction with the

10463

server. A parameter is supplied by appending a slash (/) character

10464

followed by the parameter's name and, depending on the particular

10465

parameter, the value assigned to that name, to the server name (and

10466

optional port number). Parameter names are _not_ case sensitive.

10467

Currently supported parameters include:

10468

10469

User

10470

This parameter requires an associated value, and is intended to

10471

provide the username identifier with which to establish the

10472

server connection. If your SMTP server offers SMTP AUTH

10473

authentication, adding this parameter to the SMTP-Server option

10474

will cause _Alpine_ to attempt to authenticate to the server

10475

using the supplied username. Similarly, if your NNTP server

10476

offers NNTP "AUTHINFO SASL" or "AUTHINFO USER" authentication,

10477

adding this parameter to the NNTP-Server option (or to the

10478

server name for any folder collection using NNTP) will cause

10479

_Alpine_ to attempt to authenticate to the server using the

10480

supplied username. An example might be:

10481

10482

/user=katie

10483

10484

TLS

10485

Normally, when a new connection is made an attempt is made to

10486

negotiate a secure (encrypted) session using Transport Layer

10487

Security (TLS). If that fails then a non-encrypted connection

10488

will be attempted instead. This is a unary parameter indicating

10489

communication with the server must take place over a TLS

10490

connection. If the attempt to use TLS fails then this parameter

10491

will cause the connection to fail instead of falling back to an

10492

unsecure connection.

10493

10494

/tls

10495

10496

SSL

10497

This is a unary parameter indicating communication with the

10498

server should take place over a Secure Socket Layer connection.

10499

The server must support this method, and be prepared to accept

10500

connections on the appropriate port (993 by default). _Alpine_

10501

must be linked with an SSL library for this option to be

10502

operational.

10503

10504

/ssl

10505

10506

NoValidate-Cert

10507

Do not validate certificates (for TLS or SSL connections) from

10508

the server. This is needed if the server uses self-signed

10509

certificates or if _Alpine_ cannot validate the certificate for

10510

some other known reason.

10511

10512

Anonymous

10513

This is a unary parameter (that means it does not have a value)

10514

indicating that the connection be logged in as "anonymous"

10515

rather than a specific user. Not all servers offer anonymous

10516

access; those which do generally only offer read-only access to

10517

certain "public" folders.

10518

10519

/anonymous

10520

10521

Secure

10522

This is a unary parameter indicating that the connection use the

10523

most secure authentication method mutually supported by _Alpine_

10524

and the server. _Alpine_ is capable of authenticating

10525

connections to the server using several methods. By default,

10526

_Alpine_ will attempt each method until either a connection is

10527

established or the list of methods is exhausted. This parameter

10528

causes _Alpine_ to instead fail the connection if the first

10529

(generally most "secure") method fails.

10530

10531

/secure

10532

10533

Submit

10534

This is a unary parameter for use with the "SMTP-Server" option.

10535

It indicates that the connection should be made to the Submit

10536

server (RFC 3676) (port 587) instead of the SMTP port (25). At

10537

the time this help was written the submit option was equivalent

10538

to specifying port 587.

10539

10540

/submit

10541

10542

or

10543

10544

host:587

10545

10546

Debug

10547

This is a unary parameter indicating that the connection be

10548

established in a verbose mode. Basically, it causes _Alpine_ to

10549

log the communication with the server in _Alpine_'s debug file.

10550

Normally, the alpine -d command-line flag would be used instead.

10551

10552

NoRsh

10553

By default, _Alpine_ attempts to login using "rsh", the UNIX

10554

remote shell program. Including "NoRsh" will cause connections

10555

to this server to skip the "rsh" attempt. This might be useful

10556

to avoid long timeouts caused by rsh firewalls, for example.

10557

10558

Service

10559

This parameter requires an associated value. The default value

10560

is "IMAP" which indicates communication with the server based on

10561

the IMAP4rev1 protocol (defined in RFC 3501 -- see

10562

http://www.imap.org/docs/rfc3501.html). Other service values

10563

include:

10564

10565

NNTP

10566

This value indicates communication with the server takes

10567

place via the Network News Transfer Protocol. Use this to

10568

define a collection of newsgroups on a remote news server.

10569

So

10570

10571

/service=NNTP

10572

10573

or just

10574

10575

/NNTP

10576

10577

is the way to specify NNTP access.

10578

10579

POP3

10580

This value indicates communication with the server takes

10581

place via the Post Office Protocol 3 protocol.

10582

10583

/service=POP3

10584

10585

or just

10586

10587

/POP3

10588

10589

Note that there are several important issues to consider

10590

when selecting this option:

10591

10592

1. POP3 provides access to only your INBOX. In other words,

10593

secondary folders such as your "saved-messages" are

10594

inaccessible.

10595

2. _Alpine_'s implementation of POP3 does not follow the

10596

traditional POP model and will leave your mail on the

10597

server. Refer to the Mail Drop functionality for a

10598

possible way around this problem.

10599

3. See the discussion about new-mail checking in

10600

Folder-Reopen-Rule.

10601

10602

Note that it is possible to include more than one parameter in a server

10603

specification by concatenating the parameters. For example:

10604

10605

foo.example.com:port/user=katie/novalidate-cert/debug

10606

__________________________________________________________________

10607

10608

Folder Namespaces

10609

10610

A _Alpine_ folder name looks like

10611

10612

[{<remote-specification>}][#<namespace>][<namespace-specific-part>]

10613

10614

The local part of a folder name has an optional "Namespace" which tells

10615

_Alpine_ how to interpret the rest of the name.

10616

10617

By default the folder name is interpreted as defining a section of your

10618

personal folder area. This area and how you specify it are defined by

10619

the server, if one is specified, or, typically, the home directory, if

10620

no server is defined.

10621

10622

If a namespace is specified, it begins with the sharp, "#", character

10623

followed by the name of the namespace and then the namespace's

10624

path-element-delimiter. Aside from the path's format, namespaces can

10625

also imply access rights, content policy, audience, location, and,

10626

occasionally, access methods.

10627

10628

Each server exports its own set (possibly of size one) of namespaces.

10629

Hence, it's likely communication with your server's administrator will

10630

be required for specific configurations. Some of the more common

10631

namespaces, however, include:

10632

10633

#news.

10634

This specifies a set of folders in the newsgroup namespace.

10635

Newsgroup names are hierarchically defined with each level

10636

delimited by a period.

10637

10638

#news.comp.mail.pine

10639

10640

#public/

10641

This specifies a folder area that the server may export to the

10642

general public.

10643

10644

#shared/

10645

This specifies a folder area that the folder may export to

10646

groups of users.

10647

10648

#ftp/

10649

This specifies a folder area that is the same as that it may

10650

have exported via the "File Transfer Protocol".

10651

10652

#mh/

10653

This specifies the personal folder area associated with folders

10654

and directories that were created using the MH message handling

10655

system.

10656

10657

#move/

10658

This namespace is interpreted locally by _Alpine_. It has an

10659

unusual interpretation and format.

10660

10661

#move<DELIM><MailDropFolder><DELIM><DestinationFolder>

10662

10663

The #move namespace is followed by two folder names separated by

10664

a delimiter character. The delimiter character may be any

10665

character which does not appear in the MailDropFolder name. The

10666

meaning of #move is that mail will be copied from the

10667

MailDropFolder to the DestinationFolder and then deleted (if

10668

possible) from the MailDropFolder. Periodic checks at frequency

10669

Mail-Check-Interval, but with a minimum time between checks set

10670

by MailDrop-Check-Minimum, are made for new mail arriving in the

10671

MailDropFolder. An example which copies mail from a POP inbox to

10672

a local folder follows

10673

10674

#move+{popserver.example.com/pop3/ssl}inbox+local folder

10675

10676

To you it appears that mail is being delivered to the local

10677

folder when it is copied from the MailDropFolder, and you read

10678

mail from the local folder.

10679

10680

Note that if the DestinationFolder does not exist then the

10681

messages are not copied from the MailDropFolder. A #move folder

10682

may only be used as an Incoming folder or an Inbox. When you are

10683

in the FOLDER LIST of Incoming Message Folders (after turning on

10684

the enable-incoming-folders option) the Add command has a

10685

subcommand "Use Mail Drop" which may be helpful for defining the

10686

folder in your _Alpine_ configuration. The same is true when you

10687

edit the Inbox-Path option in Setup/Config. Each of these

10688

configuration methods will also create the DestinationFolder if

10689

it doesn't already exist. If you are having problems, make sure

10690

the DestinationFolder exists.

10691

10692

In addition, the server may support access to other user's folders,

10693

provided you have suitable permissions. Common methods use a prefix of

10694

either "~user/", or "/user/" to indicate the root of the other user's

10695

folder area.

10696

__________________________________________________________________

10697

10698

What is a Mail Drop?

10699

10700

In some situaions it may make sense to have your mail delivered to one

10701

folder (the Mail Drop) and then when you want to read mail that has

10702

been delivered to the Mail Drop folder _Alpine_ will move it to another

10703

destination folder. Often the Mail Drop will be a remote folder and

10704

messages will be moved from there to a local destination folder.

10705

10706

One example where this might make sense is if the Mail Drop folder is

10707

accessible only with the POP protocol. You could designate your POP

10708

inbox as the Mail Drop folder and have _Alpine_ move mail from there to

10709

a local (on the same machine _Alpine_ is running on) destination

10710

folder, where you'll read it.

10711

10712

A Mail Drop may only be used as your Inbox or as an Incoming folder.

10713

10714

There is no attempt to synchronize the contents of the destination

10715

folder with the contents of the Mail Drop folder. All that happens is

10716

that all of the messages in the Mail Drop folder are copied to the

10717

destination folder and then they are deleted and expunged (if possible)

10718

from the Mail Drop folder. The next time a check for new mail is made,

10719

any messages in the Mail Drop folder are once again copied to the

10720

destination folder and deleted and expunged from the Mail Drop folder.

10721

(If the Mail Drop folder is a news group, then the messages can't be

10722

expunged from the newsgroup. Instead, only Recent messages are copied

10723

from the newsgroup to the destination folder.)

10724

10725

Configuration of a Mail Drop is a little different from configuration

10726

of a folder which does not use a Mail Drop because you have to specify

10727

two folder names instead of one. The two folders may be any types of

10728

folders that _Alpine_ can normally use. They don't have to be a remote

10729

folder and a local folder, that is simply the most common usage. When

10730

you use a Mail Drop folder _Alpine_ will periodically re-open the Mail

10731

Drop to check for new mail. The new-mail checks will happen at the

10732

frequency set with the Mail-Check-Interval option, but with a minimum

10733

time (MailDrop-Check-Minimum) between checks. Because of this minimum

10734

you may notice that new mail does not appear promptly when you expect

10735

it. The reason for this is to protect the server from over-zealous

10736

opening and closing of the Mail Drop folder. If the user initiates the

10737

check by typing ^L (Ctrl-L) or the Next command when at the end of the

10738

folder index, then the check will happen, regardless of how long it has

10739

been since the previous check.

10740

10741

If there is new mail, that mail will be copied to the destination

10742

folder and then will be deleted from the Mail Drop. Note that using a

10743

Mail Drop with a local destination folder does not make sense if you

10744

read mail from more than one machine, because the mail is downloaded to

10745

the destination folder (which is accessible from only one machine) and

10746

deleted from the Mail Drop.

10747

10748

The feature Maildrops-Preserve-State modifies the operation of Mail

10749

Drops.

10750

10751

The actual syntax used by _Alpine_ for a folder that uses a Mail Drop

10752

is:

10753

10754

#move<DELIM><MailDropFolder><DELIM><DestinationFolder>

10755

10756

The brackets are not literal.

10757

10758

<DELIM>

10759

10760

is a single character which does not appear in the MailDropFolder name.

10761

If the name doesn't contain spaces then it can be a space character.

10762

The two folder names are full technical folder names as used by

10763

_Alpine_. Here are a couple examples to give you an idea what is being

10764

talked about:

10765

10766

#move {popserver.example.com/pop3}inbox localfolder

10767

10768

#move+{nntpserver.example.com/nntp}#news.comp.mail.pine+local folder

10769

10770

A #move folder may only be used as an Incoming folder or an Inbox. When

10771

you are in the FOLDER LIST of Incoming Message Folders (after turning

10772

on the Enable-Incoming-Folders option) the Add command has a subcommand

10773

"Use Mail Drop" which may be helpful for defining the folder in your

10774

_Alpine_ configuration. The same is true when you edit the Inbox-Path

10775

option in Setup/Config.

10776

if it doesn't already exist. If you are having problems, make sure the

10777

DestinationFolder exists.

10778

__________________________________________________________________

10779

10780

Sorting a Folder

10781

10782

The mail index may be sorted by arrival, date, subject, from, size,

10783

score, to, or cc order. Each sort order can also be reversed. The _$_

10784

command will prompt the user for the sort order. The sort order can

10785

also be specified on the command line with the _-sort_ flag or

10786

(equivalently) with the sort-key variable in the _pinerc_ file. When a

10787

user changes folders, the sort order will go back to the original sort

10788

order. The command line (_-sort_) or configuration file sort

10789

specification (_sort-key_) changes the original sort order.

10790

10791

When a folder is sorted and new mail arrives in the folder it will be

10792

inserted in its properly sorted place. This can be a little odd when

10793

the folder is sorted by something like the subject. It can also be a

10794

little slow if you are viewing a large, sorted _INBOX_, since the

10795

_INBOX_ will have to be re-sorted whenever new mail arrives.

10796

10797

The sorts are all independent of case and ignore leading or trailing

10798

white space. There are actually two forms of subject sort. One called

10799

_Subject_ and the other called _OrderedSubj_. They both ignore "Re:" at

10800

the beginning and "(fwd)" at the end of the subjects. _Subject_ sorts

10801

all the subjects alphabetically. _OrderedSubj_ sorts by subjects

10802

alphabetically, groups messages with the same subject (pseudo-threads),

10803

then sorts the groups by the date of the first message of the group.

10804

Sorting by _Thread_ was added after _OrderedSubj_ and is usually a

10805

better method. Thread sorting uses information in the message headers

10806

References, Message-ID, and Subject. It is possible the sort will be

10807

slightly slower with a Thread sort than with an OrderedSubj sort. The

10808

sort by sender sorts by the user-id (part before the "@"), not the full

10809

name. The arrival sort is no sort at all and the date sort depends on

10810

the format of the date. Some dates are in strange formats and are

10811

unparsable. The time zone is also taken into account.

10812

10813

Sorting large mail folders can be very slow since it requires fetching

10814

all the headers of the mail messages. With UNIX _Alpine_, only the

10815

first sort is slow since _Alpine_ keeps a copy of all the headers. One

10816

exception is sorting in reverse arrival order. This is fast because no

10817

headers have to be examined. _Alpine_ will show progress as it is

10818

sorting.

10819

__________________________________________________________________

10820

10821

Alternate Editor

10822

10823

In the _Alpine_ composer you can use any text editor, such as _vi_ or

10824

_emacs,_ for composing the message text. The addresses and subject still

10825

must be edited using the standard _Alpine_ composer. If you include the

10826

feature enable-alternate-editor-cmd in your _pinerc_ you can type _^__

10827

while in the body of the message in the composer and be prompted for

10828

the editor. If you also set the editor variable in your _pinerc_ then

10829

_^__ will invoke the configured editor when you type it.

10830

10831

Turning on the feature enable-alternate-editor-implicitly will

10832

automatically invoke the editor you have defined with the _editor_

10833

variable whenever you enter the body of a message you are composing.

10834

For example, when you move out of the last header line and into the

10835

body of the message, the alternate editor will be automatically

10836

invoked.

10837

10838

We know that many people would like to use the alternate editor to edit

10839

the mail header as well. We considered several designs for this and

10840

didn't come up with one that we liked and that was easy to implement.

10841

One of the main problems is that you lose access to the address book.

10842

__________________________________________________________________

10843

10844

Signatures and Signature Placement

10845

10846

If the file _~/.signature_ (UNIX) or _<PINERC_directory>\PINE.SIG (PC)

10847

exists, it will be included in all outgoing messages. It is included

10848

before composition starts so that the user has a chance to edit it out

10849

if he or she likes. The file name for the signature can be changed by

10850

setting the signature-file variable in the _pinerc_. If the feature

10851

enable-sigdashes is turned on then the line consisting of the three

10852

characters "-- " is prepended to the signature file. When Replying or

10853

Forwarding a message different signatures my be automatically included

10854

by configuring them in the Roles setup screen. It's easy to include

10855

different signatures by hand, by having multiple signature files

10856

(_.sig1, .sig2, .sig3, etc_) and choosing to include (^R in the

10857

composer) the correct one for the message being sent.

10858

10859

_Alpine_'s default behavior encourages a user to put his or her

10860

contribution before the inclusion of the original text of the message

10861

being forwarded or replied to, This is contrary to some conventions,

10862

but makes the conversation more readable when a long original message

10863

is included in a reply for context. The reader doesn't have to scroll

10864

through the original text that he or she has probably already seen to

10865

find the new text. If the reader wishes to see the old message(s), the

10866

reader can scroll further into the message. Users who prefer to add

10867

their input at the end of a message should set the signature-at-bottom

10868

feature. The signature will then be appended to the end of the message

10869

after any included text. This feature applies when _Reply_ing, not when

10870

_Forward_ing.

10871

__________________________________________________________________

10872

10873

Feature List Variable

10874

10875

_Alpine_ used to have _feature levels_ for users with different amounts

10876

of experience. We found that this was too restrictive. _Alpine_ now has

10877

a feature-list instead. Each user may pick and choose which features

10878

they would like enabled (simple to do in the _Setup/Config_ screen).

10879

There is a short description of each in Configuration Features. There

10880

is also a short on-line help explaining the effect of each of the

10881

features in the _Setup/Config_ screen. When the cursor is highlighting

10882

a feature, the _?_ command will show the help text for that feature.

10883

Features don't have values, they are just turned on or off. They are

10884

all off by default.

10885

10886

The _feature-list_ variable is different from all other configuration

10887

variables in that its value is additive. That is, the system-wide

10888

configuration file can have some features turned on by default. The

10889

user can select other features in their personal configuration file and

10890

those features will be _added_ to the set of features turned on in the

10891

system-wide configuration file. (With all other configuration

10892

variables, the user's values _replace_ the system-wide values.)

10893

Likewise, additional features may be set on the command-line with the

10894

argument "-feature-list=". These will be added to the others.

10895

10896

The treatment of _feature-list_ in the system-wide _fixed_

10897

configuration file is also different from other variables. The system

10898

management can fix the value of individual features by placing them in

10899

the fixed configuration file. Users will not be able to alter those

10900

features, but will still be able to set the other non-restricted

10901

features the way they like.

10902

10903

Because _feature-list_ is additive, there is a way to turn features off

10904

as well as on. Prepending the prefix "no-" to any feature sets it to

10905

off. This is useful for over-riding the system-wide default in the

10906

personal configuration file or for over-riding the system-wide default

10907

or the personal configuration value on the command line. For example,

10908

if the system-wide default configuration has the _quit-without-confirm_

10909

feature set, the user can over-ride that (and turn it off) by including

10910

_no-quit-without-confirm_ in the personal configuration file or by

10911

giving the command line argument

10912

_-feature-list=no-quit-without-confirm._ More features (options) will no

10913

doubt continue to be added.

10914

__________________________________________________________________

10915

10916

Configuration Inheritance

10917

10918

We start with an explanation of how configuration works in hopes of

10919

making it easier to describe how inheritance works.

10920

10921

_Alpine_ uses a hierarchy of configuration values from different

10922

locations. There are five ways in which each configuration option

10923

(configuration variable) can be set. In increasing order of precedence

10924

they are:

10925

10926

1. the system-wide configuration file.

10927

2. the personal configuration file

10928

3. the personal exceptions file

10929

4. a command line argument

10930

5. the system-wide _fixed_ configuration file (Unix _Alpine_ only)

10931

10932

The fixed configuration file is normally

10933

/usr/local/lib/pine.conf.fixed.

10934

10935

The system-wide configuration file is normally /usr/local/lib/pine.conf

10936

for Unix _Alpine_ and is normally not set for _PC-Alpine_. For

10937

_PC-Alpine_, if the environment variable _$PINECONF_ is set, that is

10938

used for the system-wide configuration. This location can be set or

10939

changed on the command line with the -P flag. The system-wide

10940

configuration file can be either a local file or a remote configuration

10941

folder.

10942

10943

For Unix _Alpine_, the personal configuration file is normally the file

10944

.pinerc in the user's home directory. This can be changed with the -p

10945

command line flag. For _PC-Alpine_, the personal configuration file is

10946

in $PINERC or <PineRC registry value> or ${HOME}\ALPINE\PINERC or

10947

<ALPINE.EXE dir>\PINERC. This can be changed with the -p command line

10948

flag. If -p or $PINERC is used, the configuration data may be in a

10949

local file or a remote config folder.

10950

10951

For Unix _Alpine_, the personal exceptions configuration file is

10952

specified with the "-x exceptions_config" command line argument.

10953

"Exceptions_config" may be either a local file or a remote

10954

configuration folder. If there is no "-x" command line option, _Alpine_

10955

will look for the file ".pinercex" in the same local directory that the

10956

regular config file is located in. If the regular config file is remote

10957

then Unix _Alpine_ looks in the home directory for ".pinercex".

10958

10959

For _PC-Alpine_, the personal exceptions configuration file is

10960

specified with the "-x exceptions_config" command line argument. If

10961

there is no "-x" command line argument the environment variable

10962

$PINERCEX may be set to the name of the "exceptions_config" instead.

10963

"Exceptions_config" may be either a local file or a remote

10964

configuration folder. If there is no "-x" command line option and

10965

$PINERCEX is not set, _PC-Alpine_ will look for the file "PINERCEX" in

10966

the same local directory that the regular config file is located in. If

10967

the regular config file is remote then _PC-Alpine_ looks in the local

10968

directory specified by the "-aux local_directory" command line

10969

argument, or the directory ${HOME}\ALPINE, or in <ALPINE.EXE directory>

10970

for a file named "PINERCEX".

10971

10972

To reiterate, the value of a configuration option is taken from the

10973

last location in the list above in which it is set. Or, thinking about

10974

it slightly differently, a default value for an option is established

10975

in the system-wide configuration file (or in the source code if there

10976

is no value in the system-wide file). That default remains in effect

10977

until and unless it is overridden by a value in a location further down

10978

the list, in which case a new "default" value is established. As we

10979

continue down the list of locations we either retain the value at each

10980

step or establish a new value. The value that is still set after going

10981

through the whole list of configuration locations is the one that is

10982

used.

10983

10984

So, for example, if an option is set in the system-wide configuration

10985

file and in the personal configuration file, but is not set in the

10986

exceptions, on the command line, or in the fixed file; then the value

10987

from the personal configuration file is the one that is used. Or, if it

10988

is set in the system-wide config, in the personal config, not in the

10989

exceptions, but is set on the command line; then the value on the

10990

command line is used.

10991

10992

Finally we get to inheritance. For configuration options which are

10993

lists, like "smtp-server" or "incoming-folders", the inheritance

10994

mechanism makes it possible to _combine_ the values from different

10995

locations instead of _replacing_ the value. This is true of all

10996

configuration lists other than the "feature-list", for which you may

10997

already set whatever you want at any configuration location (by using

10998

the "no-" prefix if necessary).

10999

11000

To use inheritance, set the first item in a configuration list to the

11001

token "INHERIT". If the first item is "INHERIT", then instead of

11002

replacing the default value established so far, the rest of the list is

11003

appended to the default value established so far and that is the new

11004

value.

11005

11006

Here is an example which may make it clearer. Suppose we have:

11007

11008

System-wide config : smtp-server = smtp1.corp.com, smtp2.corp.com

11009

Personal config : smtp-server = INHERIT, mysmtp.home

11010

Exceptions config : smtp-server = <No Value Set>

11011

Command line : smtp-server = <No Value Set>

11012

Fixed config : smtp-server = <No Value Set>

11013

11014

This would result in an effective smtp-server option of

11015

11016

smtp-server = smtp1.corp.com, smtp2.corp.com, mysmtp.home

11017

11018

The "INHERIT" token can be used in any of the configuration files and

11019

the effect cascades. For example, if we change the above example to:

11020

11021

System-wide config : smtp-server = smtp1.corp.com, smtp2.corp.com

11022

Personal config : smtp-server = INHERIT, mysmtp.home

11023

Exceptions config : smtp-server = INHERIT, yoursmtp.org

11024

Command line : smtp-server = <No Value Set>

11025

Fixed config : smtp-server = <No Value Set>

11026

11027

This would result in:

11028

11029

smtp-server = smtp1.corp.com, smtp2.corp.com, mysmtp.home, yoursmtp.org

11030

11031

Unset variables are skipped over (the default value is carried forward)

11032

so that, for example:

11033

11034

System-wide config : smtp-server = smtp1.corp.com, smtp2.corp.com

11035

Personal config : smtp-server = <No Value Set>

11036

Exceptions config : smtp-server = INHERIT, yoursmtp.org

11037

Command line : smtp-server = <No Value Set>

11038

Fixed config : smtp-server = <No Value Set>

11039

11040

produces:

11041

11042

smtp-server = smtp1.corp.com, smtp2.corp.com, yoursmtp.org

11043

11044

If any later configuration location has a value set (for a particular

11045

list option) which does _not_ begin with "INHERIT", then that value

11046

replaces whatever value has been defined up to that point. In other

11047

words, that cancels out any previous inheritance.

11048

11049

System-wide config : smtp-server = smtp1.corp.com, smtp2.corp.com

11050

Personal config : smtp-server = INHERIT, mysmtp.org

11051

Exceptions config : smtp-server = yoursmtp.org

11052

Command line : smtp-server = <No Value Set>

11053

Fixed config : smtp-server = <No Value Set>

11054

11055

results in:

11056

11057

smtp-server = yoursmtp.org

11058

11059

For some configuration options, like "viewer-hdr-colors" or

11060

"patterns-roles", it is difficult to insert the value "INHERIT" into

11061

the list of values for the option using the normal Setup tools. In

11062

other words, the color setting screen (for example) does not provide a

11063

way to input the text "INHERIT" as the first item in the

11064

viewer-hdr-colors option. The way to do this is to either edit the

11065

pinerc file directly and manually insert it, or turn on the

11066

"expose-hidden-config" feature and insert it using the Setup/Config

11067

screen.

11068

__________________________________________________________________

11069

11070

Using Environment Variables

11071

11072

The values of _Alpine_ configuration options may include environment

11073

variables which are replaced by the value of the variable at the time

11074

_Alpine_ is run (and also at the time the config option is changed). The

11075

syntax to use environment variables is a subset of the common Unix

11076

shell dollar-syntax. For example, if

11077

11078

$VAR

11079

11080

appears in the value of a _Alpine_ configuration option it is looked up

11081

in the environent (using getenv("VAR")) and its looked-up value

11082

replaces the $VAR part of the option value. To include a literal dollar

11083

sign you may precede the dollar sign with another dollar sign. In other

11084

words, if the text

11085

11086

$$text

11087

11088

is the value of a configuration option, it will be expanded to

11089

11090

$text

11091

11092

and no environment lookup will be done. For Unix _Alpine_ it will also

11093

work to use a backslash character to escape the special meaning of the

11094

dollar sign, but $$ is preferable since it works for both _PC-Alpine_

11095

and Unix _Alpine_, allowing the configuration option to be in a shared

11096

configuration file.

11097

11098

This all sounds more complicated than it actually is. An example may

11099

make it clearer. Unfortunately, the way in which environment variables

11100

are set is OS-dependent and command shell-dependent. In some Unix

11101

command shells you may use

11102

11103

PERSNAME="Fred Flintstone"

11104

11105

export PERSNAME

11106

11107

Now, if you use _Alpine_'s Setup/Config screen to set

11108

11109

personal-name=$PERSNAME

11110

11111

the $PERSNAME would be replaced by Fred Flintstone so that this would

11112

be equivalent to

11113

11114

personal-name=Fred Flintstone

11115

11116

Note, environment variable substitution happens after configuration

11117

options which are lists are split into the separate elements of the

11118

list, so a single environment variable can't contain a list of values.

11119

11120

The environment variable doesn't have to be the only thing after the

11121

equal sign. However, if the name of the variable is not at the end of

11122

the line or followed by a space (so that you can tell where the

11123

variable name ends), it must be enclosed in curly braces like

11124

11125

${VAR}

11126

11127

It is always ok to use the braces even if you don't need to.

11128

11129

It is also possible to set a default value for an environment variable.

11130

This default value will be used if the environment variable is not set

11131

(that is, if getenv("VAR") returns NULL). The syntax used to set a

11132

default value is

11133

11134

${VAR:-default value}

11135

11136

If the config file contains

11137

11138

personal-name=${VAR:-Fred Flintstone}

11139

11140

then when _Alpine_ is run VAR will be looked up in the environment. If

11141

VAR is found then personal-name will have the value that VAR was set

11142

to, otherwise, personal-name will be set to Fred Flintstone, the

11143

default value.

11144

11145

An example where an environment variable might be useful is the

11146

variable inbox-path in the global configuration file. Suppose most

11147

users used the server

11148

11149

imapserver.example.com

11150

11151

but that there were some exceptions who used

11152

11153

altimapserver.example.com

11154

11155

In this case, the system manager might include the following line in

11156

the systemwide default _Alpine_ configuration file

11157

11158

inbox-path=${IMAPSERVER:-imapserver.example.com}

11159

11160

For the exceptional users adding

11161

11162

IMAPSERVER=altimapserver.example.com

11163

11164

to their environment should work.

11165

11166

Another example might be the case where a user has to use a different

11167

SMTP server from work and from home. The setup might be something as

11168

simple as

11169

11170

smtp-server=$SMTP

11171

11172

or perhaps a default value could be given. Note that, as mentioned

11173

above, the variable SMTP cannot contain a list of SMTP servers.

11174

__________________________________________________________________

11175

11176

SMTP Servers

11177

11178

It is sometimes desirable to set smtp-server=localhost instead of

11179

setting sendmail-path to overcome the inability to negotiate ESMTP

11180

options when _sendmail_ is invoked with the _-t_ option. Sendmail can

11181

also be subject to unacceptable delays due to slow DNS lookups and

11182